FLAMMABLE cladding similar to material used in Grenfell Tower may have been fitted to schools in Scotland - but the Scottish Government won’t know how many buildings are affected for at least 10 days.
The Ministerial Working Group hastily set up to look at fire safety in Scotland following the blaze in London has ordered local authorities to check schools. The Scottish Government also said yesterday that it could be “a number of weeks” before it knows whether Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) has been used in all high-rise homes in Scotland’s two largest cities. 
The cladding is thought to have contributed to the spread of the fire at Grenfell Tower that killed at least 80 people. The Educational Institute of Scotland, which represents teachers, said the Grenfell tragedy has “raised serious questions” about the safety of schools and urged checks to be carried out “as a matter of urgency”. The Sunday Herald has learned that councils are not expected to report back to ministers about whether ACM has been used until July 13. 
It was confirmed last week that ACM cladding has not been used in high-rise homes owned by councils or housing associations but checks on private high-rises in Edinburgh and Glasgow are ongoing. Building standards for high-rise domestic properties in Scotland means ACM should not be used in cladding systems. High-rises are defined in the regulations as more than 18 metres in height – the equivalent of four double-decker buses.
The restrictions also apply to schools and the Scottish Government confirmed yesterday that “no local authority-owned school buildings above 18 metres use ACM cladding”. However, when asked whether ACM cladding has been used in schools below 18 metres in height, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Local authorities have requested this information for all schools and expect to have received this by July 13.
“In some controlled circumstances permitted by our building regulations’ Technical Handbook, ACM can be used as part of cladding systems of other buildings.”
A spokesman for the EIS said: “The tragedy at Grenfell Tower has raised serious questions about the safety of all types of public buildings, including schools. It is essential that the relevant checks are carried out to ensure that all schools are safe and, should any issues be discovered, these must be rectified as a matter of urgency.”  
Professor Andrew Watterson, of the University of Stirling’s Centre for Public Health and Population Health Research, said it should be “relatively easy” to do a superficial check on cladding at schools but more in-depth surveys could be “a big task across all of Scotland as well as a pressing one.”
However, a survey of building control workers in Scotland by the trade union Unison found they are overworked, stressed and stuck in the office when they should be carrying out checks.
Unison Scotland’s head of policy and public affairs Dave Watson warned that regulations designed to protect the public will be “meaningless” unless there’s investment in council building standards departments.
Building standards staff are responsible for processing building warrants and checking building design and construction, but half of those surveyed said they should be spending a lot more time on site visits and a Freedom of Information request by Unison also revealed that there are 56 fewer staff working in council-run building standards departments than there were in 2010. 
Watson blamed budget cuts and said: “This survey shows that regulations that are supposed to protect the public are meaningless if there isn’t the capacity in councils to enforce them.”
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “Yesterday we introduced increased building warrant fees received by local government, providing additional resources to local authority building standards services to encourage recruitment and retention of staff and support service and performance improvement.”
Meanwhile, every college and university building in Scotland is being checked after it emerged last week a student halls of residence at Edinburgh Napier University had the same cladding as the Grenfell high-rise. 
The Scottish Government said hospitals and health centres do not have ACM cladding but ongoing checks on private high-rises in Edinburgh and Glasgow involves reviewing council paperwork, before “physical inspections are carried out where any issues are identified”. 
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We anticipate Edinburgh and Glasgow taking longer to complete their investigations given the number of high-rise properties in their local authority area. Glasgow in particular will take a number of weeks.”
An influential committee of MSPs announced last week that an inquiry into building standards would be extended to look at fire safety.
Speaking to the Sunday Herald last night, convener of the Local Government and Communities Committee, Bob Doris MSP, warned the Ministerial Working Group that they must not wait on his committee’s inquiry to conclude before they act.
MSPs won’t begin taking evidence from experts until September because the Scottish Parliament has gone into recess for two months. Doris said: “There’s an opportunity for the Ministerial Working Group not to wait for the recommendations of the committee … we don’t have the time for that. If there’s lessons to be learned let’s do it in real time. I would hope that’s the approach the Ministerial Working Group would take.”
The Sunday Herald asked to speak to one of the Scottish Government ministers who attends meetings of the Ministerial Working Group but the request was declined.
A spokeswoman for the City of Edinburgh Council said: “Site evaluations are under way to establish the materials used, with a priority for high-rise blocks, particularly those with cladding, rather than render or stone finish.” 
At Glasgow City Council a spokesman said officials are checking 8,600 written building warrants issued prior to 2005, plus thousands more stored digitally after 2005. 
Fire fighters throughout Scotland are assisting local authorities as checks are carried out. 
David McGown, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s director of prevention and protection, said: “Specialist officers are working in partnership with local authority staff to provide appropriate support to this process.
“In addition, the Scottish Government has ordered a review of fire legislation and building regulations which the SFRS will contribute towards.”