Almost 1,500 buildings in Scotland ‘at risk’ from cladding

Almost 1,500 buildings in Scotland are “at risk” from cladding which has yet to be removed, despite the Grenfell Tower disaster, the Scottish Liberal Democrats said.

There are about 13,400 blocks of flats higher than 11 metres in Scotland, according to figures published by the Scottish Government this month.

However new figures show that an estimated 1,260-1,450 of them need remedial work to alleviate external wall system (EWS) life-safety fire risk.

In statistics published by the Scottish Government in Scotland’s cladding remediation programme, it was said that by April 30, two single building assessments (SBAs), based on specification published in June 2024, had been completed and a further 13 assessments had been started.

By April 30, two completed assessments identified that remedial works were required, and work had begun for one but not the other, the statistics showed.

In June 2024, the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill was passed, giving ministers powers to “to assess and remediate certain types of buildings with unsafe cladding”.

On Friday the Scottish Government said latest estimates indicate its cladding remediation programme could cost £1.7 billion over a 15-year period.

About 250 of the residential high-rise buildings in Scotland may require work to alleviate external wall system (EWS) life-safety fire risk, while 1,020-1,200 of the mid-rise residential buildings require work to alleviate the same issue, according to a breakdown of the figures.

In contrast, by May 2025 in England, 2,477 buildings identified with unsafe cladding have started or completed remediation works, representing 49% of buildings within the programme.

There is a target to complete the remediation of high-rise buildings by 2029 and for mid-rise buildings to have either been completely remediated by the date, or to have a plan in place with a date set.

Of these, 1,652 buildings (33%) have been completed, according to UK Government statistics published in May.

Scottish Liberal Democrat communities spokesman Willie Rennie MSP accused the Scottish Government of “refusing to set” a similar deadline.

He said the remediation work was happening “inexplicably slowly” and called for progress.

Mr Rennie said: “In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, ministers should be bending over backwards to remove unsafe cladding.

“But these figures show that the SNP are nowhere: they have made next to no progress, leaving so many homeowners and residents in a distressing limbo.

“The Scottish Government have repeatedly failed to appreciate the dangers posed by certain building materials.

“They have refused to set a deadline for removing cladding and they have taken an unbelievably blase approach to the problems of RAAC concrete.

“The SNP have acted inexplicably slowly. They must urgently step up the pace in remediating at-risk buildings and keep everyone who is potentially affected informed and updated on progress.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have moved at pace to try to identify buildings in Scotland with unsafe cladding.

“For our actions to be effective, legislation was necessary and since the Cladding Remediation Act came into effect in January we have launched a £10 million scheme to support the assessment of affected buildings.

“All relevant buildings that had previously been part of our pilot programme are now either undergoing assessment or will have an assessment funded through this £10 million programme.

“We will also be launching the second stage of that scheme later this month, allowing owners to be able to apply for Scottish Government funding for measures recommended by an assessment.

“Any homeowners, including social landlords or residents with concerns about cladding issues, are encouraged to contact the Cladding Remediation Programme directly.”