Seventh Report - Building Safety: Remediation and Funding
Select Committee
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
HC 1063
11 March 2022
Recommendations
5 results
9
Accepted
It is completely unacceptable that, nearly five years after the Grenfell tragedy, the Government still...
Recommendation
It is completely unacceptable that, nearly five years after the Grenfell tragedy, the Government still does not seem to know how many buildings have unsafe cladding or other historic building safety defects. We commend the Secretary of State for finally …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it is committed to publishing information in data releases as soon as it is appropriate to do so and currently publishes monthly data on progress with remediation of unsafe ACM cladding, quarterly updates on Building Safety Fund funding, and monthly data related to the Building Safety Fund.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
View Details
10
Accepted
Para 29
We commend the Government for finally taking action to require industry players to remediate and...
Recommendation
We commend the Government for finally taking action to require industry players to remediate and pay for faults of their own doing, and we commend those organisations who have already done so. However, developers and manufacturers are not the only …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees that those responsible should contribute to remediation costs and will hold construction product manufacturers accountable, using powers in the Building Safety Act and pursuing firms through the courts. They will continue to fund cladding remediation through the Building Safety Fund for buildings above 18 metres and provide funding for 11-18 metre cladding removal through the building safety levy.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
View Details
14
Accepted
The Government rightly proposes to take strong action against UK firms, however its options against...
Recommendation
The Government rightly proposes to take strong action against UK firms, however its options against overseas firms who have also contributed to the building safety crisis are more limited. The Secretary of State told us that to reveal its options …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states they are already engaging with overseas developers and firms to provide a funded solution for the remediation of unsafe cladding. They also point to the powers in the Building Safety Act 2022 that allow the Secretary of State to prohibit developers from commencing new development or obtaining building control sign-off, regardless of ownership structures, and the High Court's power to apply a Building Liability Order to a company based overseas.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
View Details
17
Accepted
Para 49
The Government must stop pitting the building safety crisis against the housing crisis.
Recommendation
The Government must stop pitting the building safety crisis against the housing crisis. Without access to funds for remediation where social tenants live, residents of social housing are paying the price through the diversion of funds from maintaining their homes …
Read more
Government Response Summary
The Government states that social housing providers have access to the £400m Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund and were eligible for the Building Safety Fund for other combustible cladding types and can submit claims to the Building Safety Fund for the proportion of eligible works which would otherwise be chargeable to residential leaseholders.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
View Details
19
Accepted
The Government must commit to protecting the Affordable Homes Programme at its current level should...
Recommendation
The Government must commit to protecting the Affordable Homes Programme at its current level should it fail to recover sufficient funds from industry. (Paragraph 51) Guidance on building safety
Government Response Summary
The Government is confident that funding from industry will cover the cost of remediation of unsafe cladding in buildings between 11-18 metres and will not be required to provide additional funding beyond that which it has already committed.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
View Details
Conclusions (4) Observations and findings — click to expand
3
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 12
The Secretary of State said the Government would protect leaseholders from remediation costs, but too many leaseholders will fall through the cracks of the Government’s piecemeal measures. As the Government’s proposals currently stand, the only leaseholders who will not pay for building safety remediation are those who have already not …
Government Response Summary
The government states that they have delivered robust protections for leaseholders and outlines these protections in detail.
4
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 13
Leaseholders are no more to blame for non-cladding defects than they are for faulty cladding on homes they bought in good faith. Buy-to-let landlords are no more to blame than other leaseholders for historic building safety defects, and landing them with potentially unaffordable bills will only slow down or prevent …
Government Response Summary
The government states it has already delivered robust protections for leaseholders, reversing the presumption that they are responsible for historical building safety defects.
7
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 16
Our preferred option would be for the Government to table amendments to the Building Safety Bill to ensure that all leaseholders in buildings of any height have statutory protection from future costs for remediating historic building safety defects, both cladding and non-cladding.
Government Response Summary
The government believes there is no systemic fire safety issue in buildings below 11 metres and that leaseholders in these buildings have access to protections through warranties and redress measures introduced through the Building Safety Act.
13
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 32
Product manufacturers found to have been criminally responsible for defective products extending back 30 years must be legally required to automatically replace faulty materials free of charge, including compensating others who have already paid to replace the materials in question.
Government Response Summary
The government states that the Building Safety Act introduces provisions for construction products companies to contribute to remediation costs, including a new cause of action and powers to make costs contribution orders, and that it is establishing a Recovery Unit to pursue firms that have failed to do the right thing.