The government has announced measures to speed up the process
of removing potentially unsafe cladding on private sector high rise residential
buildings, after it emerged that the number of tall private buildings thought
to be fitted with flammable cladding had risen.
In May, data from the government’s Building Safety Programme
showed that 138 private sector residential buildings contained harmful
cladding.
However, this month’s figures reveal that the number has
increased to 297. The cladding status of around 170 private tall buildings is
“still to be confirmed”, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG) said.
This comes after the assessment of more than 6,000 buildings
by local authorities following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017.
“Ministers have been clear that building owners are
responsible for making buildings safe and local authorities have also started
enforcement action in all but a handful of cases to compel them to take
action,” MHCLG stated.
Remediation work is underway on 21 of the affected buildings
with four complete. The government said it was “determined to accelerate the
pace of this work” with its package of measures which include:
- A new taskforce to oversee a national programme of private sector
remediation and ensure plans are in place “for every single building
affected”. Chaired by ministers, members will include Local Government
Association (LGA), National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), industry
representatives and local authorities that have experienced the greatest
impact
- A new inspection team, comprising experts from environmental
health, building control and fire inspection who will provide support to
individual councils to make sure building owners act accordingly and
accelerate the remediation process
- An industry roundtable set for July, allowing representatives to
present their proposals on solutions to remove unsafe cladding from
high-rise buildings without transferring costs to leaseholders. Meanwhile,
MHCLG said it would continue to explore other routes for protecting
leaseholders.
Housing secretary James Brokenshire said: “The safety of
residents is my main priority and fire and rescue services are working with
building owners to ensure residents are safe now. But I want to see swifter
progress in removing unsafe cladding which is why I have announced further
action to support councils as they work with owners of high-rise blocks."
