Following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017, the Scottish Government put in place a cladding remediation programme to identify and remove the dangerous cladding from high rise buildings which had caused the fire at Grenfell.
During the course of this session, the Committee has monitored progress with that programme, in addition to its scrutiny of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill in 2023-2024, which came into force in February 2025. The Committee has expressed concerns about the slow pace of progress, and continues to receive correspondence from the owners of properties affected by cladding about the impact on their lives of delays to remediating their properties.
On 10 May 2022, the Committee held an evidence session with stakeholders on the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022. The Committee subsequently heard from the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Right on 17 May 2022. In the context of those sessions, the Committee explored wider issues around building safety.
Following this, the Committee wrote to the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights highlighting issues it wanted further information on.
A copy of that letter as well as the response can be found below under 'correspondence'.
The Committee also agreed that it would hold an annual session on building safety. In particular, the Committee expressed an interest in pursuing the following issues:
Following its evidence session with the Minister for Housing in December 2024, the Committee agreed to request quarterly reports from the Scottish Government on its progress with the cladding remediation programme. Its letter to the Minister and the responses received are below under ‘correspondence’.
The Committee held two evidence sessions following up on these issues;
18 April 2023 Building Safety session with stakeholders and professional bodies. The focus of this session was on cladding remediation and zero valued properties.
30 May 2023 Building Safety session with stakeholders followed by Minister for Housing. The focus of this session was on cladding remediation and zero valued properties.
10 December 2024 Evidence session with the Minister for Housing, arising out of concerns expressed in the Committee’s Tracker Report about the slow rate of progress being made in remediating cladding.
22 April 2025 Evidence session with the Minister for Housing on building safety which included questions on cladding following publication of the Scottish Government Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report: Scottish Government response and the Scottish Cladding Remediation: Plan of Action.
Letter from the Minister for Housing on the Cladding Remediation Programme, 5 June 2025
Letter to the Minister for Housing on Cladding requesting a quarterly update, 25 April 2025
Submission from an owner of an affected property, 25 July 2024
Submission from The Scottish Tenants Organisation, 29 July 2024
Submission from Paul Turnbull, an owner of an affected property, 2 August 2024
Submission from The High Rise Action Group, 23 August 2024
Submission from Perry Jenkins, an owner of an affected property, 10 September 2024
Letter from the Director for Cladding Remediation, Scottish Government, 6 March 2024
Letter from the Minister for Housing, 21 June 2024
Letter to the Minister for Housing on damp and mould, 23 June 2023