Government urged to halt ‘bickering’ and fix cladding crisis

An influential group of MPs has urged the government to ‘put a stop to arguing over who’s responsible’ and make thousands of tower blocks with Grenfell-style cladding safe.

In a report published today, the public accounts committee says only a third (155 out of 455) of high-rise buildings with Grenfell-style flammable cladding due to be fixed by now have had their cladding replaced with a safe alternative.

In July 2019, then-housing secretary James Brokenshire set a deadline of June 2020 for all tower blocks covered in the cladding to have it removed and replaced.

The government has now said that all building owners have works on site for the removal of unsafe ACM cladding by the end of 2020, with completion of remedial works by the end of 2021

The committee said it is “imperative” that the new deadline, for works on the remaining high-rise blocks to be completed by the end of 2021, be met.

But report adds the government has no convincing plan for how it will meet that new deadline though, and even if it does there are a host of other serious shortcomings exposed by the Grenfell disaster that also need to be addressed.

It also says the government has no plans to support residents or social landlords to meet the costs of replacing dangerous cladding in buildings below 18 metres, of providing ‘waking watches’, or of fixing other serious defects brought to light by post-Grenfell inspections.

And although the department also recognises that care homes would be at additional risk due to the difficulties in evacuating residents in the event of a fire, it has no knowledge of whether any of the 40,000 care homes, sheltered housing and hospitals below 18 metres in height are clad with unsafe material, the committee said.

‘The government has repeatedly made what turn out to be pie-in-the-sky promises – and then failed to plan, resource, or deliver,’ said committee chairman Meg Hiller.

‘The deadly legacy of a shoddy buildings regulation system has been devastating for the victims and survivors of Grenfell but is leaving a long tail of misery and uncertainty for those whose lives are in limbo.

‘The government must step up and show that it will put a stop to the bickering over who is responsible, who’s going to pay for the remediation – and just put this right,’ she added.

An MHCLG spokesperson said: ’We’re determined to ensure residents are safe and feel safe in their homes and are providing £1.6bn to speed up the removal of unsafe cladding. We are seeing significant progress – over 70% of buildings with ACM cladding have completed or are in the process of remediation.

‘We’re introducing the biggest improvements to building regulations in almost 40 years and a new regulator will ensure that people who design, build and manage high rise buildings are held responsible for building safety.

‘Building owners have a legal responsibility to ensure their buildings are safe and must ensure that any remaining buildings have started remediation works before the end of this year – if we do not see progress we will not hesitate to take further action,’ added the spokesman.

Photo Credit – Mabel Amber (Pixabay)