Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2024
It may be extremely difficult to have that. I accept that a lot of this is being worked through. I made a comment, which I stand by, about secondary legislation, but I am also sympathetic to the challenge for the Scottish Government, because this is a highly complex area.
With some of the comments that I made previously in mind, I ask the minister what detailed and specific assessment has been made of the potential impact on SMEs of the scenarios that I outlined.
I turn now to the people involved who would have been shocked—as we all were—about the tragedy of Grenfell, but who now, years later, find themselves trapped in a property that they cannot sell or remortgage; they are mortgage prisoners in their own homes. I remain to be convinced that government—and I mean any government—understands how lenders treat risk. They are not swayed by concerns for citizens, but by a complex set of algorithms that say: heads means the lenders win; tails means the borrowers lose. The application of that risk assessment hits Scotland disproportionately harder, as there are simply fewer lenders in our market. Insurers, too, will make decisions based on risk. Ordinary premiums have seen a huge rise in recent years—which is, again, thanks to Brexit and the cost of living crisis—and I suggest that some properties caught up in the cladding remediation challenge are uninsurable or have such punitive clauses that the insurance is rendered worthless, even if it could be afforded.
I accept that the Scottish Government wishes to see faster progress in this matter—as we all do—and I accept its commitment to have all buildings on a pathway to a single building assessment within the next few months. However, what does that actually mean? It could be as simple as booking in an assessment, and not that one has actually taken place. The assessment is simply the starting point for getting the go-ahead for the works. Bear in mind that some will likely involve multiple subcontractors across multiple trades in which we already have a shortage of some resources, and that costs have to be agreed in a still-high inflationary environment and they have to be drawn from multiple quotes. Residents and other stakeholders also have to be communicated with. All of that is immensely time consuming, so I would be grateful if the minister could outline in more detail what is meant by getting buildings on a pathway.
I have a few comments to make on the single building assessment. In its written submission, Barratt Developments cited a scenario where internal fire doors have not been maintained. That is the responsibility of either a factor or residents. Without work on that being completed, the building could not be added to the cladding register, and the Scottish Government has made it clear that only finished buildings will be added. I understand that the plan is to limit works to remediation, but there are clearly complexities in that area. That is the sort of thing that needs to be worked through in subsequent phases.
My final comments are on funding for orphan buildings. I recognise that most of the money that is allocated is yet to be spent, and the Scottish Government’s comments, which say:
“The funding of this programme has been considered and integrated into the future financial planning process.”
The Scottish Fiscal Commission and the Finance and Public Administration Committee have called for longer-term funding in general terms. I would welcome that being set out for the remediation programme; I would be pleased to see it. I hope that that would be set out in other areas, too, as part of general good practice.
16:04