Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) and cladding enquiries: EIR release

Information requested

Could you supply all risk reviews undertaken, briefings and analysis undertaken, about the Scottish Government's target to build to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, from the last three months?

How many buildings have so far been identified with dangerous cladding in Scotland, how many have been fixed and how much has been spent so far? What is the total budget for this project?

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Part 1 of your request

In response to your question, I have carried out searches for information up to and including the date of receipt of your request which was 7th January 2025.

I enclose copies of most of the information you have requested. The relevant documents are in the attachment and include the following:

Document 1: Housing extract from DG Communities – Joint Et Cabinet Briefing Pack PfG Delivery Nov 2024

Document 2: Email on SCANCE request

Document 3: SCANCE note

Document 4: Pre-Release Statistics Briefing

Document 5: Extracts from Briefings and web links to published information

Document 6: DG Communities – MPR Q3

Document 7: SG Delivery Dashboard

Some of the information you have requested is available from:

Housing Statistics for Scotland Quarterly Update: New Housebuilding and Affordable Housing Supply to end September 2024 - gov.scot

Affordable Housing Supply Programme: out-turn report - 2022 to 2023 - gov.scot

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-budget-2025-2026/

Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement (EFSBS) 2025-26

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-budget-2025-2026-equality-fairer-scotland-budget-statement/

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exception(s) under regulation(s) reg 10(4)(e) (internal communications), reg 10(4)(d) - Material in the course of completion, etc. and reg 11 (personal data) of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why that exception(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Part 2 of your request

How many buildings have so far been identified with dangerous cladding in Scotland?

The information requested is available on the following Scottish Government webpages:

https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/bills/s6-bills/housing-cladding-remediation-scotlandbill/introduced/financial-memorandum-accessible.pdf

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the webpages listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

In order to assist you the published information states that we have previously estimated that around 382 high-rise and up to 500 medium-rise buildings across Scotland may require assessment and some level of remediation, across all tenure and building ownership types.

We continue to use this data as an outline planning assumption. However, we are working through a number of routes to enhance both the quality and efficacy of our estimate of potentially affected buildings in Scotland.

How many have been fixed?

The information requested is available on the following Scottish Government webpages:

A letter from the Minister for Housing on the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the webpages listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

In order to assist you the published information states, that we have funded work to remediate the external wall cladding system of one pilot entry. We have recently commissioned a Single Building Assessment to confirm that all works have been identified and completed.

Works to mitigate or remediate risks have also started for another five pilot entries. In this context, ‘work’ refers to any action taken to address known cladding related risks. This includes what are described as ‘Urgent Interim Measures’.

We have awarded contracts for 13 SBAs to be undertaken for buildings on the pilot that will require Scottish Government led assessment and remediation. We are fully funding these assessments at no cost to homeowners or residents.

We can currently only provide information on mitigations or remediation works that we have funded for entries to the pilot phase of the Cladding Remediation Programme. Developers or other organisations may have carried out such works on other buildings without informing us.

How much has been spent so far?

The information requested is available on the following Scottish Government webpages:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/single-building-assessment-spending-information/

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the webpages listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

What is the total budget for this project?

The information requested is available on the following Scottish Government webpages:

Written question and answer: S6W-32132 | Scottish Parliament Website

Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 - gov.scot

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the webpages listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

In order to assist you the published information states, that the Cladding Remediation Programme is accelerating the pace of delivery now that we have put in place the essential building blocks, including the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which was commenced on 6 January 2025.

As we finalise these acceleration plans, we are diligently working on cost estimates to ensure financial clarity. However, the Scottish Government’s position remains that we will invest as necessary to effectively minimise risks posed by unsafe cladding.

Our spending on remediation costs can only follow a full end to end process - checking buildings are in scope, commissioning a Single Building Assessment, completing that robust technical assessment, identifying the works that need to be carried out, designing those works and gaining the necessary approvals, and then carrying out the remediation itself.

Investment in the programme continues with £52.2 million allocated in the 2025-2026 Scottish Government budget to support delivery and acceleration.

Annexes to the Standard Response- Reasons for not providing information

An exception applies

An exception under regulation reg 10(4)(e) (internal communications), reg 10(4)(d) - Material in the course of completion, etc. and reg 11 (personal data) of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

We recognise that there is some public interest in releasing this information as part of an open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, this request relates to an ongoing live work, and there is a need for free and frank exchanges between officials and Minister to allow Ministers to agree Scottish Government policy, this exception applies as this relates to reg 10(4)(e) (internal communications) and reg 10(4)(d) - Material in the course of completion.

This includes Document 1: Housing extract from DG Communities – Joint Et Cabinet Briefing Pack PfG Delivery Nov 2024.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

This includes Document 1: Housing extract from DG Communities – Joint Et Cabinet Briefing Pack PfG Delivery Nov 2024, Document 2: Email on SCANCE request, Document 3: SCANCE note, Document 4: Pre-Release Statistics Briefing, Document 6: DG Communities – MPR Q3, and Document 7: SG Delivery Dashboard.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202500446846 -Information Requested - Attachments

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