Scottish Government responds to Grenfell report as fund for unsafe cladding assessments is launched

On 25 March, 2025 the Scottish Government published its "Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report: Scottish Government response". Alongside this a fund for unsafe cladding assessments, with a £10 million fund for owners to have relevant buildings assessed, regardless of whether the property is privately owned or social housing. An extension of the scheme is also planned to support mitigation and remediation works.

The Housing Minister Paul McLennan, who made the announcement said:

“The fire at Grenfell Tower which resulted in the deaths of 72 people was a tragedy that should never have been able to happen. For owners who have cladding in their homes this has been a worrying time which is why we have launched this new fund to speed up the process of assessing and replacing unsafe cladding. Of the 58 recommendations in the Inquiry’s second report, 43 relate to areas devolved to Scotland and we are continuing to collaborate with other parts of the UK on building and fire safety matters. Immediately after the tragedy we took steps to strengthen building safety in Scotland and we are continuing to deliver an ongoing programme of improvements including introducing legislation as appropriate.”

The Scottish Government’s response to the Grenfell Inquiry’s Phase 2 report outlines actions to address the recommendations, highlighting how the deaths were preventable, resulting from multiple failures by multiple parties, including the UK Government. It notes that the report revealed dishonest practices by manufacturers and professional failings during the 2015-2016 refurbishment, particularly regarding cladding and insulation materials. 58 recommendations were issued covering building regulations, professional competence, product certification, fire safety, and the creation of a single construction regulator.

The Scottish Government has accepted all of the recommendations, as far as they apply in Scotland, under devolved competence and will collaborate with the UK Government on reserved matters. The Ministerial Working Group considered the recommendations and split them into eight themes, as follows:

• Regulation and systems (6)
• Government and restructuring (2)
• Building Standards, fire tests and product certification (11)
• Design competence (5)
• Fire safety and Firefighting (15)
• Resilience and local authorities (15)
• Assorted recommendations (4).

The Scottish government has set out in the report how it will address each recommendation that falls within devolved competence. The key components of the Scottish Government Response are as follows:

• Introduce new legislation to strengthen building standards and enforcement powers, building on the work of the Building Standards Futures Board, and introduce a new role of a compliance plan manager.
• A complete review of fire safety standards and guidance.
• Further consultation on legislative changes required to improve compliance and enforcement.
• Take further evidence on the need for, the role and functions of a Chief Construction Adviser.
• Ask the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and HM Fire Service Inspectorate in Scotland (HMFSI) to consider and report on role relevant recommendations, and complete the work already in progress.
• A fire safety information awareness campaign applied to relevant high rise building stock throughout 2025, to reinforce resident actions to reduce fire risk and support the vulnerable in the event of a fire.
• Consider how to bring in the regulated requirements to carry out either a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP), a person centred risk assessment or equivalent.
• Advice and recommendations to come from the Scottish Law Commission’s recommendations regarding mandatory homeowners’ associations in Spring 2026.
• Consult on mandatory periodic fire risk assessments in specified high rise buildings to reduce fire risks, and promote long-term system integrity for cladding remediation, including the Cladding Assurance Register.
• Commit to strengthening fire risk assessor competency in Scotland and requirements for duty holders to hire a competent assessor through legislation via public consultation and legal/policy consultation.
• Work with local authorities and other category 1 responders to improve and strengthen resilience guidance, training and practice.

The full response to the Grenfell inquiry phase 2 report can be downloaded as a PDF here.

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