Jackie Baillie has accused the SNP of dragging their heels replacing Grenfell-style cladding in Scotland as it reveals most work won’t happen until 2025/26.

The SNP government pledged to spend £180 million removing the dangerous cladding from Scottish buildings – however, their spending review confirmed that the bulk of this work won’t happen until 2025/26.

Within the Dumbarton constituency, there are three schools which have been constructed with the same material as Grenfell Tower – Vale of Leven Academy, St Patrick’s and Gartocharn primaries. Also, Hermitage Primary, Hermitage Academy, Parklands School, Garelochhead Primary and Cardross Primary were built using combustible cladding – banned because of the Grenfell fire.

The cladding remediation programme was originally meant to be rolled out in full in 2022 – however this funding doesn’t even start until 2023/24, with a budget of £30 million, increasing to £50 million in 2024/25 and £100 million in 2025/26, nearly a decade after the Grenfell tragedy.

Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary recently admitted in response to a written Parliamentary question that no surveyors and fire engineers have yet been procured to carry out single building assessments – the first step in replacing this cladding.

The SNP Government has faced criticism for its slow response to the Grenfell tragedy, having only taken the decision to ban the dangerous cladding earlier this year – more than four years after the UK government did the same.

Now these revelations have sparked fresh fears that things are still not moving fast enough.

Dumbarton constituency MSP, Jackie Baillie said: “It beggars belief that the SNP government still don’t seem to grasp the urgency of the situation with schools across my constituency having been constructed either using the same materials as Grenfell Tower or combustible materials which were banned following the tragedy.

“After years of needless delay, they have finally accepted that this dangerous cladding needs to go – but they are still dragging their heels about making it happen and it appears it could be a decade before action is actually taken.

“I called on the Scottish Government at the time to ensure Councils had the resources they needed to be able to make the necessary adaptations required to ensure buildings were safe. And every year that they fail to act is another year that people are left living and working in unsafe buildings.

“There is absolutely no more time to waste learning the lessons of the Grenfell tragedy – the SNP need to stop this dangerous negligence and speed up this programme.”