Chamber and committees

I will say a couple of things on that. I have said on a number of occasions that the process of identifying cladding-related issues across Scotland has been far too slow, and I will touch on the actions that we are taking in that regard. Work to assess, mitigate and remediate is already under way through a number of avenues. We have published information via the high-rise inventory that shows that work is now under way on just under half—11 out of 23—of high-rise buildings that are owned by a local authority and have been identified as having combustible cladding. We are surveying local authorities to validate the data and confirm the status of buildings where remediation has not previously been reported. That is key.

We have also confirmed that all 107 entries in the Scottish Government pilot programme are progressing on an appropriate pathway of assessment, which will lead to mitigation or remediation works. We received the fire engineer outturn report immediately before Easter weekend, and officials are currently rapidly considering it.

Scottish Government-led assessment is progressing on 13 works. Urgent interim measures, such as waking watches, are taking place for six entries, and one entry has had external wall cladding removed. When we have been made aware of the need to take immediate action, we have done so. For instance, we have invested more than £6.7 million in mitigation works for one entry that was cited.

As I have said, I have no doubt that the length of time that it took to identify such issues was disappointing, hence why we are taking action to move things forward. We have been very sensitive to the concerns of affected home owners and residents, and I have met people from across Scotland on a number of occasions.

The statutory framework that we lacked previously, which includes a robust SBA process, has been in place since January. We must now greatly increase the pace. I have previously spoken in a statement to the Parliament about the open call and the breadth of our work on cladding. I am sure that that will come up later.

That is what we have resolved to do. I have said previously in the Parliament and to the committee that the pace was far too slow, but we are now taking action. We have passed the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill and put in place the SBA process. We also have the developer remediation programme. That is all in place. We have an indicative budget of £52 million for this year, which is a big increase in spending. We have in place everything that is needed to increase the pace in tackling the issue.

More generally, I know that the issue has been raised in the committee and in the Parliament before. On the back of the statement on the Grenfell tower inquiry, there is much broader awareness of that. We contract with companies as part of the Government-led process. We have 13 SBAs in process just now.

I have asked the question, as have many others, and we have not been made aware of any issues in companies’ capacity to participate, but we will continue to monitor that as part of the cladding remediation process. As part of the broader process, SBAs are going ahead. It is a UK-wide issue, so UK companies are dealing with that as well.

I ask Stephen Garvin to talk about the broader issue around SBAs and fire engineers. I might ask Alan Johnston to comment on the more specific cladding issues. I note that those two aspects cannot be separated.

There are a number of points in that. I come back to the point that the Acting Minister for Climate Action made. I recently visited Granton, where there is a mixed tenure development and the heating system is built in to the development itself. The Government is committed to doing that in future.

Retrofitting is an important part of what local authorities—and the Government—look at in relation to their outlook for investment. It is important to invest in retrofitting, repairs and new housing. There is no doubt in my mind that we need to follow the retrofitting agenda. I know that there has been debate about that in other Parliaments, but there is no doubt that we need to do it as soon as we can to make sure that we are tackling climate change.

The Acting Minister for Climate Action updated the Parliament on the Government’s intention to introduce a heat in buildings bill to make provision for all homes and buildings to move to clean heating systems by the end of 2045. It is right to do that. Even though that is about 20 years away, it gives incentives to investors.

As I previously told the committee, the estimated cost is about £30 billion and it would provide about 20,000 jobs. The cost of construction has probably pushed that estimate much higher than it was a year or so ago. We always need investment to come in to the sector.

From speaking to local authorities and other social landlords, I know that that is an important part of their considerations about whether they invest in repairs, new properties or retrofitting. The mixed tenure approach is also important in terms of discussions about how they can invest. I had the pleasure of visiting Wester Hailes to talk about the success of the area-based schemes. When I visited Wester Hailes, I saw the improvement that that had made in a number of properties with mixed tenure. Half a billion pounds has been spent on that project.

We are looking at different proposals for working with the City of Edinburgh Council on heat networks. Local authorities had to send in their local heat and energy efficiency strategies—LHEES—and now we are looking at implementation plans. There are several different approaches, but they have to take in a mixed tenure approach.

We must remain committed to changing the heating systems by the end of 2045. Different local authorities have different approaches. That is why it was important that the LHEES were picked up on, because they allow a little bit of local flexibility. It is important that we make sure—particularly considering the size and scale of Edinburgh and the mixed tenures in it—that there are different approaches that we can take. We are working closely with the council, as is the Acting Minister for Climate Action and other colleagues.

There are a number of places, and Home Energy Scotland is one of them. Local authorities also have a role in that regard. We can have an LHEES implementation plan and a strategy, but a key point is how we get that message out. We are talking about developing technologies in the next 15 or 20 years. How do we ensure that home owners, social landlords, private landlords and private tenants are aware of them? Local authorities play an important part in that. People should be aware of energy advice, whether from local authorities or from the Government. It has to tie into the LHEES strategy and what that looks like. We talked about the approach that is taken in Edinburgh; other parts of Scotland take different approaches. It is about making people aware of that.

The specific approach in Wester Hailes focused on discussing with home owners, social landlords, Edinburgh council, or people who had bought their houses. The important part was speaking specifically to tenants—that was helpful—and making them aware of their options, whether the property was privately owned or owned by the council.

Yes, and you and I had a brief discussion about that. It was discussed at the event and various proposals are being developed in the sector and I am sure that the Government will pick up on that. I am happy to take that point away and raise it with colleagues.

I had an interest in solar thermal when I met Solar Energy Scotland prior to becoming minister. The technology has changed and the payback time has reduced. There are different forms of solar energy and different ways in which it can help to tackle climate change. The sector will continue to develop. One of the key things for me going forward is to make sure that we are flexible enough to engage with different technologies as they move on in the next five, 10, 15 and 20 years, whether that be for retrofitting or for new properties being built. We have seen how much technology has changed in the past five years.

Yes, I can. I will bring in Stephen Garvin in a second to talk about this in a bit more detail, but I have already mentioned that the Institution of Structural Engineers—that is its long name—is looking at developing additional guidance specific to the issue of RAAC in housing. Moreover, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is preparing a consumer guide that will provide advice to landlords, tenants and home owners, and that guide is expected shortly. The Institution of Structural Engineers is also preparing guidance to support landlords, tenants and home owners in making informed decisions on how they manage RAAC in residential properties, and that work is due to be completed later in the year.

We are engaging and liaising with RICS and IStructE in supporting those initiatives, and we are having on-going engagement with affected landlords through the Scottish Government-led RAAC in housing sub-group, which Stephen Garvin has touched on. I will bring in Stephen, as he is involved much more than I am in those discussions.

I will bring in Alan Johnston to respond to that question, but I have a response to it, too.

The Grenfell response has come out, but there is work beyond that. I am happy to keep the committee up to date, if members think that that would be relevant.

I will bring in Stephen Garvin on the other point, which is the most important to come out of the Grenfell inquiry.

Before Alan comes in, it is important to note the broader concept of fire engineers’ work in relation to Grenfell.

I ask Alan to cover the specific work that we are engaging on, because SBAs are about more than just fire engineering.