Views are being sought on the proposed Scottish Building Safety Levy, which will be introduced under powers due to be devolved by the UK Government later this year. The consultation will open on 23 September and run for eight weeks, closing on 18 November. 

The levy would apply to the construction of new residential buildings, mirroring measures being introduced in England through the UK Building Safety Act. Funds raised would support the Scottish Government’s cladding remediation programme.

Finance secretary Shona Robison said: “We are keen to hear from people across Scotland about our proposals, which would raise funds from developers to help safeguard people living in buildings with unsafe cladding.

“I know that developers share our determination to keep people safe and have continued to make significant progress. This legislation will build on that momentum, ensuring developers make a fair contribution to address building safety defects in Scotland, just as the UK Government is asking them to do in England. 

“We are continuing our work in partnership with developers, in line with our New Deal for Business and Framework for Tax, to ensure this levy best contributes to our mission of keeping people safe.”

The consultation comes after it was revealed that the Scottish Government scheme set up in response to the Grenfell Tower blaze has not yet completed cladding remediation work on any affected properties.

While the pilot cladding remediation programme has 107 listings, details obtained by Scottish Labour under freedom of information have revealed that work has only started on five of these.

In contrast, a Holyrood committee report last year said that as of December 2023 in England 42% of affected buildings had had work either started or completed, with 1,608 premises included in this total.

Scottish Labour housing spokesperson Mark Griffin said: “The SNP’s lack of urgency removing this dangerous cladding from Scottish buildings is nothing short of scandalous.”

“The SNP government cannot play fast and loose with fire safety.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “With the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 and the Single Building Assessment Technical Specification now in place, we are accelerating the pace of delivery.”