On 1^st November 2023 the Scottish Government published its proposals to reform external wall cladding and improve fire safety in blocks of flats which measure or exceed 11 metres in height. The Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee invited views from the public through a Consultation. This recently closed and the Bill has progressed to Stage 2. A meeting is scheduled for 23^rd April 2024 to discuss proposed amendments. The Scottish Government’s stated ambition post Grenfell is to bring forward legislation to “reduce the risk to life from unsafe cladding on people’s homes”. The Bill seeks to achieve this by: 

 1) granting new powers to assess cladding systems and arrangements for remedial works,

 2) establishing a Cladding Assurance Register and,

3) setting up a responsible developers’ scheme.

The Bill, when drafted, will allow Scottish Ministers to introduce a Single-Building Assessment for residential flatted buildings which:

• are, or exceed, 11 metres in height,
• were constructed or subsequently redeveloped between 11^th June 1922 and 1^st June 2022, and
• have an external wall cladding system.

Where such an assessment is required, it will identify whether the cladding system in situ has created, or made worse, a risk to life.  If that is the case, the assessment will identify what requires to be done to eliminate or mitigate that risk.

In order to generate such a Single-Building Assessment, parties can be required to provide relevant information. A failure to do so, or to provide inaccurate or misleading information, is likely to be deemed a criminal offence carrying sanctions.

If the Single-Building Assessment identifies works are necessary, Scottish Ministers are to be empowered to order the building to be evacuated where that is necessary on safety grounds, and to arrange for works to be carried out. What is not clear as yet is who will pay for the cost of such works. Early indicators are that the construction industry will be required, where appropriate, to bear some of the cost, but full details of financial provisions are awaited.

Further, the Bill provides for the set up of a Cladding Assurance Register. This would be a public register which would include a list of buildings that have undergone the Single-Building Assessment process. The register will be made available to owners, occupiers, purchasers and creditors. It is envisaged that the Cladding Register will record:

• the date of any assessment,
• the outcome of that assessment, and
• where necessary works are identified, the progress of such works and the dates same have been completed.

The last key ambition of the Bill is to enable Scottish Ministers to set up a Responsible Developers’ Scheme. Details are sparse on how such a scheme would operate, but membership is likely to be contingent on a developer making financial contributions towards the cost of the Single-Building Assessment and any remedial works identified in terms of such assessments. It is unclear if non-members will be prohibited from carrying out development work.

Clearly, members of the construction industry will have contributed to the Consultation, which closed in December 2023, and we await with interest further reporting on the Bill as it progresses through the Scottish Parliament.

For more information or advice, please contact our team.