All 4,000 high-rise tower blocks in the UK similar to Grenfell Tower are to face inspections, communities secretary Savid Javid has announced.
The Minister said the emergency inspections are already under way with the Governmment liaising closely with local authorities and social housing providers.
It comes as Chancellor Phillip Hammond claimed during a BBC interview on Sunday that the type of cladding used at Grenfell, which has been the subject of speculation around why the blaze spread so quickly, is banned in the UK.
“My understanding is that the cladding in question, this flammable cladding which is banned in Europe and the US, is also banned here," he told Andrew Marr
“So there are two separate questions. One is, are your regulations correct, do they permit the right kind of materials and ban the wrong kind of materials? The second question is, were they correctly complied with?”
The chancellor confirmed the public inquiry, launched in the wake of the tragedy, will look at the issue of cladding as well as questions over whether the government acted swiftly enough in the wake of a fire in 2009 at Lakanal House in Camberwell, south London, which killed six people. A separate criminal investigation is also under way into the fire.
The Government and the local Kensington and Chelsea council both continue to face criticism about the immediate response to the disaster.
According to the DCLG the tower block audit will include, identifying the number of council and housing association-owned or managed tower blocks above six stories in each local authority; if any other residential buildings are at risk; whether these buildings have been refurbished in the last 15 years; and if these buildings have had any works relating to external cladding.
The Chartered Institute of Housing has released advice to councils and social housing providers regarding fire safety.
The three-day Firex 2017 exhibition and conference at Excel London starts tomorrow.
The Fire Sector Federation (FSF) issued a statement saying that although a fire on such a scale is unprecedented in the UK, there have been a number of similar incidents both here and around the world.
"The FSF has long expressed major concerns about the apparent disjoint in the processes which aim to ensure fire safety within the built environment, as well as concerns about the combustibility of certain modern building materials," it added.
"While we must wait for a full investigation into the cause of the fire and the reasons for such rapid fire spread in this tragic incident, the Fire Sector Federation will be continuing to campaign for improvements in fire safety legislation and in ensuring the safety of the public and our built environment."
Paul Fuller CBE, Chair of the Fire Sector Federation added: “There is no doubt that there will be questions to answer and the Fire Sector Federation will continue to investigate and campaign for improvements in fire protection and fire safety legislation.”
