Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government, UK Government, Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are taking a similar approach to the definition of the materials that we are talking about. A degree of consensus seems to have emerged as each Administration has undertaken reviews since Grenfell, and there seems to be general agreement on the definition that is being used.

I ask Stephen Garvin whether that is being explored in those terms.

I ask David Blair to jump in again.

It is worth reinforcing the point that the 11m height does not apply to the most highly combustible cladding materials, which are banned from all new build. Other types are permitted up to 11m.

As I said in my previous response, the committee will be aware that the single building assessment process needs to be undertaken to identify where we believe changes need to be made. David Blair might want to come in here and say whether there has been any assessment of the numbers.

Again, as that is a highly technical matter, I will rely on officials.

Yes, although some of those issues were dealt with by the cabinet secretary in her statement to Parliament last week.

The single building assessment is intended to overcome a difference between the UK and Scottish tenure systems, in that in Scotland there is not a single building owner.

The committee will be aware that the single building assessment is about the safety of buildings and the people in them, and it includes a generic fire risk assessment as well as an external wall appraisal. It needs to be carried out in a professional and rigorous manner, and only by undertaking that work can we identify where changes to existing systems might need to be made. There is a fairly high degree of confidence that the majority of buildings will be found to be safe, so the mere conducting of an assessment should not give people cause for severe anxiety. However, the work needs to be undertaken to identify where those changes have to happen.

Training of surveyors to undertake the external wall appraisals is under way. We expect that to improve the capacity of the sector to deliver the assessments that are necessary. Reducing the level of competence of those who are undertaking the work is really not an option, so we have to work with the sector to increase the supply of competent professionals who can undertake that work. I think that the committee will understand the need to work with the sector to increase capacity but also to make sure that those assessments are conducted to the required standard.

It is also an important principle that the assessments come at zero cost to home owners, and the Government has ensured that they will.

I am not aware of any suggestion that we need an entire bill on the matter, but committee members will be aware that the changes that we are making are just the latest in a series that we have made, since Grenfell, relating to fire safety issues. We are planning more changes on the energy side of things. Our approach is to have more continuous development to address existing concerns and future challenges that our building stock will face, rather than to take a single big-bang approach.

Stephen—do you want to add anything to that?

Again, I will turn to officials for an answer to that question.

As I mentioned in my opening remarks, we are working with the industry to ensure that capacity grows to meet demand for assessments, as they come through. I am not sure whether we have any more recent updates on the work that has been done to our ensure that skills and capacity are growing to meet demand.