Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report: Scottish Government response

13: Discussion

The Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 Report sets out a catalogue of issues that ultimately led to the tragedy occurring. Whilst that tragedy occurred outside of Scotland the shock and the impacts were felt here. We will take action to improve our systems across areas where responsibility is devolved and will work with the UK Government and other administrations on reserved matters. Indeed, action to improve fire safety began immediately after 14 June 2017, and the changes and improvements made since are set out within this report.

Scottish Ministers are committed to taking action to deliver against the recommendations and as set out in the Chapters above. Building safety is a high priority for Ministers with a commitment to ensuring that the failings found by the Inquiry within government and regulation are avoided.

The Scottish Government will take forward new workstreams in response to the Grenfell report but will also continue work that is already underway. The government cannot deliver this in isolation, it needs a similar commitment and collaboration from industry, professional bodies, local authorities, public bodies and SFRS. Engagement with the UK Government and other administrations on building safety matters going forward will also be essential.

Changes to the building standards system in Scotland and across the fire landscape need to have lasting effect and support a stronger and more resilient system. The Phase 2 Report builds on the findings from the Phase 1 Report providing recommendations that bring the need for cultural change to the fore in a system that has systematically operated to undermine the regulatory system.

The Phase 2 Report has presented the opportunity to not only assess the recommendations, but also to reassess the work done to date and consider what further work we still need to do. Regulators and regulation cannot stand still, as findings in the report demonstrated all too well. A regulatory system needs to respond to changes in technology, practices and need. Any such gap creates the opportunity for those who want to flout the system for their own benefit without requiring consideration of the consequences. Understanding current practices and the technologies and materials being used in construction is a key role of government and regulators.

In this section we set out what we will commit to over the coming years to improve building and fire safety in Scotland. The changes committed to are wide ranging and in some cases will create new roles and responsibilities.

13.1 Working towards safer buildings in Scotland

The failings of the UK Government departments charged with housing, building regulations and fire safety are set out in the Inquiry’s report and acknowledged by the Government’s response report. As a result, it is noted that the UK Government’s structural changes have now made it so that these responsibilities are brought together under one department. The Scottish Government does not propose to make such structural changes due to the different nature of government departments in Scotland. Scottish Ministers acknowledge that more can be done to ensure that building and fire safety matters are considered collectively, and changes are looked at within a system of building safety as opposed to in isolation.

We will reset the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety, which currently oversees relevant cross cutting work, to take on additional responsibilities and scope to enable effective coordination and collaboration across policy areas. The Group will be supported by an extended group of external experts who are able to advise on the needs and impact of policy changes in Scotland and to share wider experience from the rest of the UK and internationally.

We propose to undertake further work to explore options for the role of and the functions of a Chief Construction Adviser. This is a key recommendation in the report, designed to provide additional independent expertise to Ministers on the effectiveness of the building control regime.

The Plan of Action for Cladding Remediation is being published on 25 March 2025. This will seek to build on progress made through commencement of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024, and the introduction of the statutory Single Building Assessment to support identification and remediation.

The Plan of Action will include arrangements for a new Open Call, progress on work with developers on developer led remediation, and set out our work with local government and registered social landlords to ensure that proactive action is being taken by all actors across the system, and that work addresses cladding issues in all tenure types.

We will assess the principles and application of Section 2 (Fire) of the Technical Handbooks starting with a Call for Evidence to identify any further opportunities for improvement in both content and communication of standards and guidance and their application in practice. This will include, but not be limited to, the themes identified by the report for Approved Document B in England.

Aspects of the supporting assurance framework will be reliant upon the development and delivery of components such as a revised construction products regime which are reserved matters. A key aspect of any review will be an understanding of any reliance on the development of an improved assurance regime for construction products. Any risk in this respect will be managed by demonstrating that any changes proposed in Scotland consider the new construction products regime and apply a robust approach to assurance. The UK Government published a Construction Products Reform Green Paper on 26 February 2025, which sets out proposals for system-wide reform of the construction products sector, the regulatory regime that governs it and the institutions that must fulfil their responsibilities in assuring safe products that can be safely used.

13.2 Building Standards

Changes to the building standards system in Scotland and across the fire safety landscape need to have lasting effect and support a stronger and more resilient system. The Phase 2 Report builds on the findings from the Phase 1 Report providing recommendations that bring the need for cultural change to the fore in a system that has systematically operated to undermine the regulatory system.

The Inquiry’s report raised concerns on developers seeking to meet the guidance rather than the regulations. It is important for a response on this issue to emphasise the hierarchy of provision within current legislation and the context within which published guidance must be considered.

In principle, it is correct that the application of solutions in published guidance will support compliance with the mandatory standard under which the guidance is presented. This is a cornerstone of the system of functional standards set out under our regulations. Most standards describe a general outcome whilst some are more prescriptive on how a risk is to be addressed and an outcome, for example standard 2.15 ‘automatic fire suppression systems.

The delivery of a fire safe building relies upon all the measures identified within guidance to each of the standards in Section 2 (Fire) being addressed, to the extent they are applicable to proposed works. These are the component actions across all 15 standards that, when implemented, collectively manage the overall risk to life from fire where new building work is undertaken. They are supported by further base requirements set directly by regulations, for example regulation 8 on the durability, workmanship, fitness of materials and combustibility of external wall cladding systems.

For the application of building standards to be effective, provisions must be understood and implemented correctly. It is important that the context within which examples of compliance, given in the published guidance, can be used are always clearly defined.

We will continue to strengthen the building standards system in Scotland through the work of the Building Standards Futures Board focussing on measures that will deliver building regulation compliant buildings. This work spans from the design stage through to the completion of the building and includes the associated statutory enforcement elements, with the intention that all components of the system are optimised and work together to improve compliance.

To strengthen delivery of the building warrant service, building warrant fees are increasing to provide the additional resources that local authority verifiers require to fulfil their full legislative roles and meet increasing compliance workloads. Investment by local authorities in their building standards teams through this increase in fees is a critical cornerstone to strengthening the system.

The Compliance Plan Manager and Compliance Plan Approach presently under development for high-risk building warrant projects will also be tailored to apply to all building warrant projects in Scotland leading to an increase in construction compliance assurance.

Certification of compliance with building standards by Certifiers of Design and Certifiers of Construction within building warrant applications is an important part of the current building standards system in Scotland and can provide reductions in building warrant approval assessment timescales and increased compliance assurance. Through the review of our Certification Strategy, we will seek to develop further certification schemes focussed on life safety critical areas. We will also work further with the UK Government on the development of a UK national licensing scheme for principal contractors which could be of equal value in Scotland whilst considering how any such scheme would relate to our current certification schemes.

Work will also be undertaken to review the effectiveness of the pre-emptive building standards system to ensure this is working effectively. The review will consider both the strengths and weaknesses of the pre-emptive system to identify where it is effective in driving compliance with building regulations but also where there may be gaps or workarounds that create difficulties at the design and construction stages. Research will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the pre-emptive system to support this work.

Strengthening of enforcement powers for local authorities to take action on illegal work and increased penalties for offences will put in place a more stringent regime of sanctions as a deterrent against non-compliant building work. The ability for a local authority to immediately stop work on site, the introduction of increased fines and the option of a custodial sentence when this is deemed in the public interest will support future changes to strengthen the pre-emptive building warrant process which is a fundamental principle of the Scottish building standards system.

The focus on raising competency by addressing skill gaps across the building standards profession is already supporting effective delivery of the system and the ability of building standards professionals to embrace new technology and evolving ways of working across the construction sector. The proactive management of competency will ensure every individual in a technical operational role will be assessed to ensure they meet the competencies for their role. Validation and periodic revalidation of competency for the building standards profession was introduced from 2021 and the approach is being enhanced with the introduction of an independent model of assessment from 2027.

Recent reviews of the Operating Framework and the Performance Framework will ensure that the basis of the appointment of building standards verifiers recognises the essential requirement of protecting the public interest by maintaining their impartiality and accountability to the public when carrying out an independent third-party check of design proposals in building warrant applications. These requirements extend equally to projects where the local authority has an interest when carrying out work to new or existing council buildings. This aspect of their role will be reviewed formally as part of new measures to assess their performance as a buildings standards verifier when these are introduced from 2026.

13.3 Retrofit, over cladding and compartmentation

The ability of external walls to resist the spread of flame when they are over clad is at the centre of the failure seen at Grenfell. The overriding concern being that if the external walls of a high-rise residential building support the spread of fire to any significant degree, it is not viable to operate a stay put strategy safely.

This concern will be considered as part of the overarching review of standards and guidance. However, notable actions since 2017 which have strengthened the stay put policy are as follows:

• the need for a building warrant for over cladding and compliance with current regulations (2022)
• the need of non-combustible external wall cladding to relevant buildings (2022), and
• the need of suppression to all flats and maisonettes (2021).

A review is needed to understand what an effective regime would involve when undertaking building retrofit. One which identifies, maintains, or enhances existing compartmentation as part of a fire safety strategy. There is a need to understand how the level of risk associated with a loss of compartmentation in retrofit situations can be mitigated effectively and what other measures may be appropriate in compensation for any increased risk identified. The option for evacuation by default may be a consideration as a design outcome. Whilst a move to ‘evacuation on alert’ to a fire can mitigate the risk that may arise from a lack of control of fire spreading within a building, the risks associated with evacuation should also be understood and managed.

13.4 Fire Safety Strategies for high-risk buildings

It is recommended by the report that a fire safety strategy be produced for high-risk buildings at building warrant stage for review at completion and that it takes account of escape needs of vulnerable people. This refers to the situation in England where legislation identifies a responsible person for these buildings to enable a fire safety strategy for the building to be implemented when in use. There is no direct equivalent in Scottish regulations and taking account of the escape strategy for vulnerable people is difficult to support in Scottish regulations without an identified responsible person for the building.

This concern will be considered as part of the Section 2 (Fire) review, building on the existing non-domestic fire safety design statement. This will be supported by ongoing work relating to the Compliance Plan Approach and our continued partnership working with the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the UK Government including on current work in developing a British Standard for fire strategies.

The proposed review and Call for Evidence will assess options to require and assess safety critical information on high-risk buildings. Any assessment of fire risk and response in the design of a building which is to consider the individual characteristics of occupants may require to be necessarily limited and apply scenario modelling. It may be that discussion on this recommendation is best taken forward with Recommendation 57 on further consideration of PEEPs.

13.5 Fire Performance Tests

Evidence from the Inquiry questioned the use of small scale British Standard fire tests for the classification of internal wall and ceiling linings, to be used for assessing the fire performance of external wall cladding systems. Reference to these small-scale reaction to fire tests were removed from the Scottish Technical Handbooks in 2019.

We are working with the UK Government and the BSI to ensure that Scottish Ministers are sighted on any new developments in large scale facade fire testing. This will help to ensure the classification and assessment system is fit for purpose and robust. The UK Government research and the European Commission sponsored facade testing work, will help inform our planned review of Section 2 (Fire) of the Technical Handbooks.

13.6 Fire Service

The Scottish Government will formally ask the SFRS and HMFSI to consider the specific recommendations made in relation to incident command, inspection of the control room, operational planning communications and the deployment of firefighters, and report on the outcome of any inspection / operational changes at future Ministerial Working Group meetings within a reasonable timeframe.

Working together Scottish Government and SFRS will undertake a fire safety information awareness campaign throughout 2025 across relevant high-rise domestic buildings to reinforce the action residents can take to reduce the risk of fire and to support vulnerable people to take appropriate action in the event of a fire.

The Scottish Advice Note on external wall systems in 2025 - 2026 will be reviewed to support the Cladding Remediation Programme and the Single Building Assessment (SBA) specification (Cladding Remediation Programme: Single Building Assessment specification - gov.scot).

13.7 Housing

The Scottish Government has asked the Scottish Law Commission to undertake a project on Compulsory Owners Associations. They are exploring legal options for the establishment, formation and operation of compulsory owners’ associations and the rights and responsibilities to be imposed on them. The recommendations from are anticipated in Spring 2026 for consideration by Ministers.

Following the Law Commission's recommendations, the Scottish Government will consider whether compulsory owners associations may be a route to ensure that those who are unable to self-evacuate have a person-centred risk assessment in place. The Scottish Government is committed to consulting on the introduction of mandatory periodic fire risk assessments in specified high and medium rise buildings to reduce the risk of fire, and to promote the long-term integrity of the system for cladding remediation in Scotland.

This consultation process could be aligned with the forthcoming recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission on Compulsory Homeowners Associations.

13.8 Resilience and Local Authorities

The Scottish Government will commit to continuing to look for opportunities to strengthen the role of the voluntary, community and faith sectors in multiagency resilience partnerships.

During 2025 – 2026 the Scottish Government will undertake a review of resilience doctrine, structures, and the suite of Preparing Scotland Guidance to ensure there is clarity on the roles, responsibilities and expectations of categorised responders, wider resilience partners and the Scottish Government in planning, response, and recovery.

Work will also be taken forward following a consultation on the learning and training needs of Category 1 responders and how support can be provided by the Scottish Government. This work will be used to inform a refresh of learning and development for Category 1 responders and broader resilience stakeholders.

13.9 Competence and culture

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the CQIC (the Quality working group) to take forward work on industry culture, seeking to embed the principles that help to form a positive culture within industry through practice. We will work with the Skills Working Group of the Transformation Board to establish the best approach to wider industry competence.

Work has started to further strengthen the management of competency for the building standards profession including the development of a wholly independent scheme of competency assessment expected to be introduced from 2027.

We are committed to working with the UK Government on the regulation of the fire engineering profession. This will help to frame the prioritisation of actions and understand how we will move from the current regime and actors, who are still actively supporting fire-safe design across sectors, to a new regulatory regime. The new regime should address the education and the confirmation of initial and ongoing competence of fire engineers as a profession.

The Scottish Government will work with the UK Government and other administrations on situations where a building design would be supported by input from a registered fire engineer. The Scottish Government believes that the level of risk arising from the nature of a building project should define the need.

Any discussion on changes to the regime governing the regulation and oversight of the fire engineering profession will be of interest to several organisations. We will engage with practicing fire engineers in Scotland and their associated professional institutions. Other important actors in this area are the wider construction industry, SFRS, LABSS and the SBSH. The latter is establishing a fire engineering hub to support verification.

13.10 Improving the diversity and skills of review bodies

We are committed to continuing current practice in the formation of our review groups, with the twin goals of developing the experience and diversity of knowledge of participants. We will offer an initial report on this as part of our general Call for Evidence and seek views on opportunities to further enhance this process.

We would seek to expand commentary to recognise situations where there has been a lack of continuity in communication with groups and our wider stakeholder base during the review and consultation process generally and how we are seeking to rectify this via a more proactive publication scheme.

13.11 Legislation

The Scottish Government’s acceptance of the recommendations in the Inquiry’s report and the work undertaken under the auspices of the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety would require further legislation. At present the main legislation that impacts on building safety is from the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 and relevant Housing legislation.

Further work and consultation will be undertaken to enable the introduction of the new role of Compliance Plan Manager under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 will require further legislation. In addition, changes will need to be made to enable new enforcement powers and greater sanctions on those who chose to recklessly disregard the building standards.

The introduction of requirements for Fire Risk Assessors will require changes to the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 following a period of working with the UK Government.

The need for legislation related to duty holders for domestic blocks of flats, including any review regarding PEEPs or person-centred risk assessments will be determined following the review of this area by the Law Commission as set out above.

Scottish Ministers are committed to taking the actions necessary to improve building and fire safety including legislation where necessary.

13.12 Working with the UK Government on reserved areas

The UK Government’s response to the Inquiry’s report recognises that building safety and building condition issues exist across the UK. It gives a commitment to work together on these matters. In recent years engagement has taken place on building standards, fire safety and cladding remediation to understand respective approaches and areas of common interest.

Scottish Ministers welcome the UK Government’s commitment to working with the Scottish Government and other devolved administrations as we progress action in response to the recommendations. There is recognition of the differing systems and legislation in all four nations, but agreement to share approaches and learning.

The Scottish Government commits to working with the UK Government (subject to seeing further detail on proposals) for the strengthening of the construction products regulation, and the regulation of fire engineers and fire risk assessors. There is strong support in Scotland from stakeholders for the fire engineering professions to have both protected title and protected functions.

Further areas of shared interest include the development of the single construction regulator. The licensed scheme for contractors has potential benefits that will be explored as to how such a scheme might apply in Scotland and its relationship with Certification of Construction schemes.

The Scottish Government also recognises the benefit of a UK construction library of product information. Whilst this is not a reserved area of responsibility there is limited benefit of setting up a separate source in Scotland.