Unsafe building cladding could cost Scottish Government £1.7bn
Unsafe building cladding could cost the Scottish Government £1.7bn over a 15-year period, according latest estimates.
New estimates from Holyrood suggest almost 1,500 residential buildings may need repair work during the same time period.
A Building Safety levy bill has been announced to help raise around £30m per year to help fund work to fix residential buildings.
If passed, the construction of certain new residential properties will be taxed, which is similar to legislation in England
Public finance minister Ian McKee said: 'The Scottish Government is committed to doing what is right and necessary to address the challenge of fixing buildings affected by unsafe cladding.
'That includes putting the appropriate funding arrangements in place to ensure that the associated costs of cladding remediation do not fall directly onto affected homeowners.
'I know that developers share our determination to keep people safe and this levy will ensure they make a fair contribution to these costs, just as they will be doing in England.
'I also welcome the continued cooperation of developers who have accepted responsibility for the assessments and any required mitigation and remediation of their buildings.'
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