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Fire union concern over cladding discovery Glasgow high-rise cladding information 'not sufficiently clear'
(about 2 hours later)
Scotland's Fire Brigade Union has raised concerns that the fire service and residents were not told combustible cladding had been found in Glasgow. Information from Glasgow City Council about the type of cladding used on private high rise blocks in the city is "not sufficiently clear", the Scottish government has said.
It has emerged that the Glasgow City Council informed government ministers on 8 September that hundreds of homes were affected. MSPs were told on Wednesday that combustible cladding had been found on some residential buildings in the city.
The union questioned why the priority had not been to tell the fire service. The council said it had informed government ministers on 8 September .
The council later stressed there was no suggestion of a particular fire risk, and that residents would be informed. However, ministers say more work is needed to determine the type of cladding and the extent of its use.
Denise Christie, of the Fire Brigades Union, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "It's quite concerning that this information was known two weeks ago and the fire service have not been informed - they need to know where the risks are within their local areas. Housing Minister Kevin Stewart has written to Bob Doris, the convener of Holyrood's local government and communities committee.
"The Fire Brigades Union are concerned that Glasgow City Council knew about it, but their priority wasn't to inform the residents or the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service." Councils across Scotland have been checking buildings in the wake of the fatal Grenfell Tower fire in London.
'National issue' The committee was told that Glasgow City Council had discovered that aluminium composite material (ACM) had been used at a number of private residential properties in the city.
MSPs and ministers have been conducting inquiries into fire safety and building and planning standards in Scotland in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire, which killed an estimated 80 people. 'Public reassurance'
Holyrood's local government and communities committee heard that Glasgow City Council had discovered combustible cladding at a number of properties while looking back over the plans for some private residential properties in the city. Raymond Barlow, assistant head of planning and building standards at the council, said information had come to light "in the last couple of weeks".
Raymond Barlow, assistant head of planning and building standards at the council, said information had come to light "in the last couple of weeks" about "private flatted developments". He said this had been passed on to a ministerial working group.
He revealed that neither the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service nor flat owners had been directly informed, but the Scottish government's ministerial working group had been told in the first instance because it was a "national issue". However, Mr Stewart said the information provided by Mr Barlow on 8 September had "not been sufficiently clear to be able to provide the necessary level of public reassurance".
He had said all the buildings had fire systems in place and they all complied with the building regulations in force at the time they were constructed. "This was especially important as depending on the type of ACM cladding, the extent of its use and how it has been installed as part of a cladding system there might be no cause for concern," he said in his letter to Mr Doris.
Mr Stewart said these concerns had been highlighted in another letter to the council, and additional support had been offered to help scrutinise that information.
"Glasgow City Council accepted the Scottish government's offer of assistance on 20 September," he said.
"We will therefore now work with Glasgow City Council to fully investigate and scrutinise the information they have shared so that they can reassure the owners and occupants of private high rise domestic buildings that they are safe."
Safety 'paramount'
Scottish Labour has secured an urgent question at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday afternoon.
The party's housing spokeswoman Pauline McNeill will ask Housing Minister Kevin Stewart what action the Scottish government took after receiving the information about the flats.
This is the first time an urgent question has been asked in the Scottish Parliament, following recommendations made by the Commission for Parliamentary Reform.
Denise Christie, of the Fire Brigades Union, has voiced concerns about the way information had been passed on.
She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that the fire service needed to know where the risks were within their local areas.
"The Fire Brigades Union are concerned that Glasgow City Council knew about it, but their priority wasn't to inform the residents or the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service," she said.
Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said on Wednesday that the safety of residents was "paramount" to the administration.
She added that officers were "working to fully assess the levels of ACM in private accommodation and what, if any, problems this may pose".