Dan Lowe and Dr Benjamin Ralph from Hollis explain why money alone will not solve cladding issues across Scotland
MORE than eight years after Grenfell and almost six months after the launch of Scotland’s Cladding Remediation Programme, hundreds of buildings across the country still pose a fire safety risk due to unsafe cladding. To reduce this risk, the Scottish Government has recently announced £20 million in additional funding for cladding remediation, plus an extra £10 million for urgent mitigations. But funding alone isn’t enough.
Supporting existing frameworks
While the additional funding broadens access to Single Building Assessments (SBAs), which can include Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEWs), these tools must be applied rigorously. The new funding should lead to long-term improvements in occupant safety, not just completed forms or partial checks.
Unlike England, where the Building Safety Act enforces compliance through centralised measures, Scotland relies on the local authority acting as building standards verifiers. This delivery model should drive faster approvals and ensure that people benefit from the impact of this funding. But this advantage only holds if those responsible are supported with enough technical fire safety expertise, detailed reporting and access to investigative tools to carry out a comprehensive job.
Money alone won’t solve the cladding issues across Scotland. We need skilled people on the ground and an industry that is ready to deliver, fast.
Dan Lowe, senior project manager at Hollis, said, “Real-world evidence that is assessed with fire engineering expertise is the key to delivering real value in terms of life safety.
“The construction and fire safety sectors must work together to prioritise occupant safety over reactive compliance.”
Ensuring early accuracy
Even with funding, the actual cost of re-cladding, redesign and reinstallation can run into the millions, depending on the complexity of the project and the extent of remediation work, which only adds more complexity.
This is why early, accurate assessments are essential to avoid any misdirection early into the project. FRAEWs must be rooted in real-world site conditions, which arrived at assessors opening up walls, verifying construction types and determining where risks genuinely exist.
“It is not uncommon to find situations where as-built information cannot be sourced, or the information that is provided differs from install,” added Dan. “Instead, careful and considered investigations can be informative and give confidence in the build install. This allows the correct levels of remediation to be actioned and the most dangerous cases to be identified and prioritised.”
Dr Benjamin Ralph, head of building safety and fire at Hollis, sees this as a defining moment. “Scotland’s fire safety landscape is rapidly evolving, with support from the Scottish Government. The focus must be on turning assessment into action, whilst avoiding the pitfalls we’ve seen in England. That means scalable strategies, standardisation where possible, and sharing best practice across industry and authorities.”
Navigating eligibility
The Scottish Government has confirmed that social landlords are now eligible for remediation funding and that all eligible applications received before the end of December 2025 will be progressed. This is a vital step, but applying for funding remains complex. Property owners, especially those managing large portfolios, will need external support to ensure the right buildings are prioritised and that they can maximise the benefits they get from the funding.
Property owners can lean on built environment consultants, like Hollis, who have experience from the initial FRAEW and EWS1 reports, through to full project and cost management services. By getting external support, property owners can make more informed decisions, which is critical in a market where compliance timelines are tightening and the cost of delay is measured not just in money, but in lives at risk.
The new funding is a major milestone. But whether it becomes a turning point depends on what the industry does next. With the right expertise, transparency and intent, Scotland has a chance to lead by example and ensure occupant safety is prioritised.
Building owners and decision-makers should take this additional funding as a sign to act now to ensure they are compliant and are keeping their tenants safe.
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