Single Building Assessments carried out for cladding: EIR release

Information requested

1. As part of your investigations into cladding on buildings in Scotland, how many Single Building Assessments have you now completed?
2. How many buildings were found to have unsafe cladding?
3. How many had cladding which is safe?
4. How much have you spent on Single Building Assessments to date? 
5. When do you expect the first remedial works to begin?
6. Have you agreed with Homes for Scotland how much they will contribute towards remediation costs?
7. Has Homes for Scotland paid any monies to you yet and if so how much?

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.

Response

1. Our Single Building Assessment programme includes 105 buildings. Single Building Assessments for 27 buildings have commenced and remediation work has commenced linked to one of those Single Building Assessment.
2. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 10(5) (f) Substantial prejudice to interests of person who provided the information. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
3. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 10(5) (f) Substantial prejudice to interests of person who provided the information. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
4. This information is available from https://www.gov.scot/publications/single-building-assessmentspending- 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 website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
5. Remediation work has already begun on one of the pilot buildings and the information on the cladding spend provides the spend on remediation. https://www.gov.scot/publications/singlebuilding- assessment-spending-information/
6. The Scottish Government does not expect a facilitator organisation such as Homes for Scotland to provide any monies.
7. The Scottish Government does not expect a facilitator organisation such as Homes for Scotland to provide any monies.

About FOI

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