Minister confirms £20m for cladding as ‘glacial pace’ of remediation is blasted

The Housing Secretary has announced another £20 million to speed up action to remove dangerous cladding in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly come under fire from opposition parties over the pace of remediation work following the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster in London which claimed 72 lives.

But Mairi McAllan on Thursday said additional support will accelerate action to make buildings safer.

The minister, who was given the newly created role in June, said the number of properties eligible for Government support will be expanded.

She said the single open call fund, which allows owners and residents to apply for an assessment to determine the work required to make buildings safe, will be doubled to £20 million this year.

A separate £10 million fund will be made available to prioritise immediate mitigations for buildings most at risk.

The Scottish Government said the fund has made 258 initial grant funding offers for building owners and residents to take forward a single building assessment (SBA).

The £10 million additional funding will ensure every eligible application received before the end of December this year will be progressed, it said.

It follows criticism from opposition parties at Holyrood that Scotland’s removal of dangerous cladding is falling behind other parts of the UK.

Just 0.2% of potentially affected buildings have completed remediation work.

Out of an estimated 1,450 buildings that may require work to remove cladding, just three have been fully assessed under the cladding remediation programme.

Another 12 SBAs, which assess any risk to life as a result of cladding, are currently under way.

Only two buildings in the country currently have active remediation work being undertaken.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats said, last week, the Government was moving at a “glacial pace”.

The Housing Secretary said: “Scotland’s cladding remediation programme is progressing at pace and the additional £20 million I’ve announced today will further expedite this vital work.

“Doubling the funding for holistic single building assessments to £20 million will ensure owners and residents can rapidly and thoroughly assess works required.

“I am also confirming £10 million to fund immediate mitigation measures where needed and have today opened a new application process for owners, including social landlords, or their representatives, to apply for funding for essential cladding remediation works identified as part of the assessment process.

“Finally, I am setting a deadline of October 31 2025 by which responsible developers must sign the developers remediation contract.

“Ultimately I am determined that, by 2029, every high-risk residential building over 18 metres will have been resolved, with buildings between 11 and 18 metres placed on a clear pathway to resolution.

“My foremost priority is to ensure the safety of all those living in buildings affected by dangerous cladding.”

Responding to Thursday’s announcement, Scottish Lib Dem communities spokesman Willie Rennie said: “We’re over seven years since the Grenfell Tower disaster. This is work that the Scottish Government should have done years ago.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats recently revealed that of an estimated 1,260-1,450 residential buildings which may require remediation work, just three single building assessments had been completed.

“This lack of progress contrasts sharply with the situation in England, where 2,490 buildings identified with unsafe cladding have already started or completed remediation works.

“This is an issue where Scotland simply cannot afford to fall behind; by moving so sluggishly with the necessary building works, the SNP Government are only increasing the risks to peoples’ lives.”