Ministers accused of ‘complacency and negligence’

THE professional body for Scottish solicitors has called for a Scotland-wide assessment of cladding on high-rise buildings to be carried out by the Scottish Government.

A letter to ministers from the Scottish Tenants Organisation says it was “complacent, negligent and inexcusable” of ministers to “ignore” the studies on combustible cladding, and criticised the lack of spending.

A spokesman for North Lanarkshire Council said: “We’re aware that new guidance from

RICS has been issued relating to HPL cladding and we are currently assessing our council housing stock to identify if there are buildings which require a EWS1 form to ensure we comply with the guidance. We have in place robust safety and monitoring procedures for all our buildings in line with the latest health and safety guidelines.”

An Edinburgh City Council spokesman added: “Like all other local authorities we’ve been asked to provide the Scottish Government with the number of buildings we have with this cladding, which we have done. We’re also planning to carry out fire risk assessments on all of our buildings found to have it and this work has already begun.”

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “I am very concerned by the difficulties being faced by people living in buildings with external wall cladding, who have concerns about safety, or who are unable to buy, sell or remortgage their homes and I understand the anxiety that this is causing.

“The Scottish Government has sought to understand the prevalence of high-pressure laminate cladding across a number of sectors and a summary report is currently being prepared. Building owners and managers will be able to use Scottish Government guidance in the form of a Scottish Advice Note on fire risk posed by external wall systems to help them understand and manage any risk posed by external wall systems, such as cladding. This guidance will be specific to Scotland and published in the summer.”

THE city of Minneapolis has agreed to pay $27 million (£19.4 million) to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’s family over the black man’s death in police custody.

The Minneapolis City Council emerged from a closed session to announce the settlement, which includes $500,000 for the neighbourhood where Mr Floyd was arrested.

Mr Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a former officer who is white, pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes.

Mr Floyd’s death sparked violent protests in Minneapolis and beyond and led to a national reckoning on racial justice.

Mr Floyd’s family filed the federal civil rights lawsuit in July against the city, Chauvin, and three other fired officers charged in his death.

It alleged the officers violated Mr Floyd’s rights when they restrained him, and that the city allowed a culture of excessive force, racism and impunity to flourish in its police force.

The Floyd family attorney called it the largest pre-trial settlement ever for a civil rights claim.