The Remediation of Dangerous Cladding

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 31 Oct 2024 Closed: 16 May 2025 Parliament page
In June 2017, 72 people lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower disaster. The resulting public inquiry found that aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding had played a significant role in the spread of the fire. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has committed £5.1bn to remove and … Read more
20 Recommendations
26 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
5 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 9 events
15 Sep
2025
Correspondence
4 Sep
2025
Correspondence
17 Jul
2025
Correspondence
16 May
2025
Report published
27 Mar
2025
Correspondence
21 Mar
2025
Report published
3 Mar
2025
Correspondence
3 Feb
2025
Oral evidence
3 Feb
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
3 Feb 2025
View on parliament.uk
Ben Llewelyn · MHCLG Councillor Adam Hug · Local Government Association David O'Leary · Home Builders Federation Giles Grover · End Our Cladding Scandal Helen Fisher · Homes England Rhys Moore · National Housing Federation Richard Goodman · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Sarah Healey CB CVO · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Title HC No. Published Items Response
17th Report - The Remediation of Dangerous Cladding HC 362 21 Mar 2025 46 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
28 results
Clear
2 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Write to committee setting out actions to ensure sufficient remediation system capacity.
Insufficient capacity and skills across regulators, local authorities and the construction sector risks undermining MHCLG’s acceleration plans. In 2020, the previous Committee warned that skills needed for remediation work would come under pressure as the scope of government’s programmes increased. … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to write to the Committee by July 2025, setting out actions taken to ensure sufficient capacity in the remediation system, detailing examples of ongoing work such as funding for the BSR, bringing in additional inspectors, and working with mayoral areas.
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Undertake urgent review of building insurance premiums and propose actions to reduce costs for residents.
MHCLG is not doing enough to manage the risk that residents in affected buildings face exorbitant insurance premiums in the long term. The previous Committee raised concerns in 2020 about the spiralling insurance costs faced by residents awaiting remediation and … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and is continuing to work with industry to gather data on insurance costs before, during, and after remediation. This data will inform its consideration of supporting the industry to reduce fire-related liabilities and it has asked the insurance industry for claims performance evidence, with an update promised by end of 2025.
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Strengthen counter-fraud controls for accelerated funding and share learning across Ministry programmes.
MHCLG’s previous attempts to speed up remediation exposed the taxpayer to increased risk of fraud. When MHCLG launched its high–rise Building Safety Fund in 2020 it relaxed a range of taxpayer protections in order get money out to projects quickly. … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will use initial findings from fraud measurement exercises to strengthen counter-fraud controls and share learning across the Ministry and with the PSFA. Full outputs for the fraud loss measurement exercise are expected by Autumn 2026.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Publish formal assessment of remediation policies' impact on housebuilding targets and identify mitigation actions.
We are not convinced that MHCLG is taking the potential impact of its remediation plans on wider housebuilding targets seriously enough. The government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes during this Parliament. The construction sector is reporting workforce shortages. … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and commits to publishing an impact assessment of its remediation policies, including the Building Safety Levy, alongside draft levy regulations later this year.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Committee took evidence from MHCLG, Homes England, and industry on cladding remediation.
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) and Homes England on remediating dangerous cladding.1 We also heard evidence from the Home Builders’ … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the implied recommendation, committing to provide an update to the Committee in Autumn 2025 on policy and legislative changes for the Remediation Acceleration Plan and progress in identifying dangerous buildings. It is also working towards creating a legal duty for responsible parties to fix buildings.
HM Treasury
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8 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
MHCLG's cladding remediation targets considered too slow and incomplete, with works extending to 2035.
We asked MHCLG how its new plan would speed up the remediation process. MHCLG told us that its Ministers were committed to speeding up the pace of remediation. The Plan introduced a target that by the end of 2029 all … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will publish an updated Remediation Acceleration Plan in Summer 2025, providing an update to the Committee in Autumn 2025, which will address policy and legislative changes, including creating a legal duty for 11m+ building owners to fix buildings within clear timescales.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Persistent and new barriers hinder accelerated progress of cladding remediation efforts.
The Plan identified several barriers to remediating at pace and outlined the steps MHCLG was taking to address them. Some of these barriers are those MHCLG told the previous committee about in 2020, including landlord reluctance to come forward, limited … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to updating the Committee by July 2025 on its ongoing work to increase capacity and skills across the building sector to accelerate remediation, including providing additional funding for the Building Safety Regulator and working with mayoral strategic areas.
HM Treasury
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10 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Legislative changes necessary to address remediation barriers and strengthen freeholder enforcement.
Addressing some of these barriers will require legislative changes, for example, creating new obligations on landlords to remediate, and new enforcement powers for regulators to compel remediation or impose penalties. The Plan did not mention other barriers to pace highlighted … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to provide an update to the Committee in Autumn 2025, alongside an updated Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) in Summer 2025, addressing policy and legislative changes required, including strengthening legislation for cladding remediation.
HM Treasury
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11 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Uncertainty about 11-18 metre building safety and remediation timelines remains for residents.
MHCLG’s Plan acknowledged that uncertainty around how many 11–18 metre buildings needed to be remediated meant that many residents were unsure about the safety of their homes and the timeline for getting them fixed.15 When asked what it was doing … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will publish an updated Remediation Acceleration Plan in Autumn 2025. This update will include policy and legislative changes, progress on identifying dangerous cladding, and plans to strengthen legislation to mandate remediation for buildings over 11 metres.
HM Treasury
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12 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
MHCLG's remediation plan lacks sufficient scope and fails to address critical issues.
End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS) told us it was not confident that MHCLG’s Plan would deliver for residents. It explained that too many barriers and issues remained, that MHCLG’s 2029 target was still five long years away and that it … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will publish an updated Remediation Acceleration Plan in Autumn 2025. This update will include policy and legislative changes, progress in identifying dangerous cladding, and a commitment to removing remediation blockers and strengthening enforcement legislation for buildings over 11 metres.
HM Treasury
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13 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Government funding programmes exclude non-cladding fire safety defects, burdening property owners and leaseholders.
In their written evidence to us, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and The Property Institute also raised concerns about the exclusion of non– cladding defects from government funded programmes. The NFCC told us there was a “large proportion” of … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will publish an updated Remediation Acceleration Plan in Autumn 2025. This update will include commitments to removing blockers to accelerate remediation, address non-cladding defects, and strengthen legislation to enforce the fixing of internal and external fire safety issues.
HM Treasury
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14 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Leaseholders continue to face significant, 'life-changing' costs for non-cladding fire safety defects.
We asked MHCLG about what it was doing to support residents with non– cladding defects. MHCLG told us that it was developing a new standard with the British Standards Institute to give the sector more certainty over what work needed … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will publish an updated Remediation Acceleration Plan in Autumn 2025. This update will include commitments to removing blockers to accelerate remediation, address non-cladding defects, and strengthen legislation to enforce the fixing of internal and external fire safety issues.
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Specialist skill shortages for remediation, particularly fire engineering expertise, remain a concern.
In 2020, the previous Committee warned that shortages of specialist skills to support remediation would increase owing to an expected increase in the number of buildings included in the government’s remediation programmes. Following the creation of the Building Safety Fund … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to updating the Committee by July 2025 on its ongoing work to increase capacity and skills across the building sector to accelerate remediation, including providing additional funding for the Building Safety Regulator and working with mayoral strategic areas.
HM Treasury
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17 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Construction industry continues to report a lack of skills for essential building remediation activities.
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) told us that there remained a lack of skills within the industry, making it difficult to find qualified people to undertake remediation work. It explained that addressing this issue was challenging, but could, and was, … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to update the Committee by July 2025 on its work to increase capacity and skills in the building sector to accelerate remediation. It cites additional funding for the Building Safety Regulator, bringing in experienced inspectors, and working with mayoral strategic areas to drive remediation.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Limited qualified professionals compromise quality and consistency of PAS 9980 fire risk assessments.
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) told us that the PAS 9980 standard for assessing the fire safety risk of external walls relied on specialist knowledge of building construction, fire engineering principles and material performance. The NFCC warned that there … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to updating the Committee by July 2025 on its ongoing work to increase capacity and skills across the building sector to accelerate remediation, including providing additional funding for the Building Safety Regulator and working with mayoral strategic areas.
HM Treasury
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19 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Disagreement persists regarding the sufficiency and calibre of Chartered Fire Engineers for remediation assessments.
The Home Builders Federation told us that it was concerned that a shortage of “Chartered Fire Engineers” was a barrier to speeding up developer self– remediation. MHCLG assured us that it did not currently see a shortfall of fire engineers, … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to provide an update by July 2025 on its work to increase capacity and skills in the building sector to accelerate remediation. It details ongoing efforts, including funding the Building Safety Regulator and bringing in more building control inspectors.
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Construction industry faces capacity challenges from ageing workforce and Brexit, impacting remediation acceleration.
We asked witnesses if the construction industry had the capacity to support the acceleration of remediation. The HBF told us acceleration was happening, but that it would be challenging. It outlined some of the challenges facing the sector, including an … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the observation and commits to updating the Committee by the end of July 2025 on its work to increase capacity and skills across the building sector to accelerate remediation. It details existing efforts including funding for the Building Safety Regulator and working with mayoral areas to drive remediation.
HM Treasury
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21 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Regulators' capacity, funding, and skills shortages hinder effective building safety remediation enforcement
When buildings are stuck in the remediation process, regulators (local authorities, fire and rescue authorities, and the Building Safety Regulator– for higher-risk buildings33 ) take enforcement action to get the process moving. MHCLG’s Plan recognised that constraints around the capacity … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to update the Committee by July 2025 on its work to increase capacity and skills in the building sector for accelerated remediation. It details additional funding for the Building Safety Regulator, improved infrastructure, and bringing in experienced building control inspectors, as well as working on Local Remediation Acceleration Plans.
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Insufficient capacity and capability within the Building Safety Regulator is delaying remediation efforts
We heard concerns about insufficient capacity and capability at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), which oversees the safety and standards of buildings over 18 metres. The HBF told us that the BSR was continuing to hold up development, including self-remediation … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to updating the Committee by July 2025 on its ongoing work to increase capacity and skills across the building sector to accelerate remediation, including providing additional funding for the Building Safety Regulator and working with mayoral strategic areas.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Residents still lack sufficient information and transparency regarding their building's remediation progress
In 2020 the previous Committee noted that many residents were not being kept informed about the process of remediation and requested that MHCLG set out how it would improve transparency.42 We therefore asked whether government was now doing enough to … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to writing to the Committee annually from Summer 2025 until Summer 2029 to provide updates on remediation progress for 18m+ and 11m+ buildings.
HM Treasury
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27 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Effectiveness of new resident communication requirements in Cladding Safety Scheme remains too early to assess
MHCLG’s Plan commits to driving compliance with the Code of Practice to ensure residents are kept informed throughout the remediation process and disruption from works on site is minimised.46 Homes England told us that communication with residents was far more … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and will write to the Committee annually from Summer 2025 until Summer 2029 to provide updates on remediation progress and targets for 18m+ and 11m+ buildings.
HM Treasury
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28 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Spiralling insurance costs and 'nil' mortgage valuations for leaseholders remain largely unaddressed
In 2020 the previous Committee concluded that MHCLG had not done enough to address spiralling insurance costs affecting leaseholders and ‘nil’ mortgage valuations. It found that private leaseholders in blocks with dangerous cladding had received ‘nil’ valuations for their properties, … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees on the importance of building evidence on the cost of buildings insurance and commits to continuing to gather data with industry and stakeholders. This data will inform the consideration of government support to reduce fire-related liabilities, and an update on progress will be shared by the end of 2025.
HM Treasury
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30 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Risk-pooling arrangements have not effectively reduced extreme building insurance premiums for leaseholders
MHCLG told us that it was bringing forward statutory changes to ban insurance brokers from paying commissions to freeholders and managing agents, and capping what freeholders can charge leaseholders for arranging insurance.51 MHCLG told us that the risk–pooling arrangements it … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees on the importance of building evidence on the cost of buildings insurance and commits to continuing to gather data with industry and stakeholders. This data will inform the consideration of government support to reduce fire-related liabilities, and an update on progress will be shared by the end of 2025.
HM Treasury
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32 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Insurance premiums will remain high without full property protection alongside life safety.
In written evidence, the ABI called on government to adopt an approach that priorities property protection and building resilience alongside risk to life. It said that without a standard requiring the removal of combustible material in external walls (insulation and … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees on the importance of building evidence on the cost of buildings insurance and commits to continuing to gather data with industry and stakeholders. This data will inform the consideration of government support to reduce fire-related liabilities, and an update on progress will be shared by the end of 2025.
HM Treasury
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43 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Social housing providers diverting funds for cladding remediation impacts new home construction significantly.
The Government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes during this Parliament and expects social housing to be at the heart of the UKs’ housing supply. Against a backdrop of the construction sector reporting workforce shortages (paragraph 20), we asked … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to publishing an impact assessment alongside draft levy regulations later this year and providing an update to the Committee before the end of 2025 on the interaction between remediation policies and housebuilding ambitions.
HM Treasury
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44 Recommendation Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
MHCLG acknowledges remediation spending by social housing providers reduces new home building commitments.
We asked MHCLG about its understanding of the impact that £3.8 billion of self–remediation costs might have on social sector housebuilding, and whether it had undertaken any assessment of how many houses would not be built because money was being … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to write to the Committee before the end of 2025, providing an update on the interaction between remediation policies and housebuilding ambitions. It will also publish an impact assessment alongside draft Building Safety Levy regulations later this year.
HM Treasury
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45 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
Building Safety Levy raises concerns about impact on new housing delivery and smaller developers.
In its written evidence to us, the Home Builders Federation (HBF), which represents the home building industry, told us of its concerns about the possible impact of the Building Safety Levy on new housing delivery. MHCLG currently expects to raise … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to publishing an impact assessment alongside draft levy regulations later this year and providing an update to the Committee before the end of 2025 on the interaction between remediation policies and housebuilding ambitions.
HM Treasury
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46 Conclusion Accepted
17th Report - The Remediation of D…
MHCLG expects Building Safety Levy to have minimal impact on housing supply.
We asked MHCLG about the potential impacts of the Building Safety Levy on housing provision. MHCLG said it had not published any impact assessment or produced specific numbers, but believed the impact would be relatively small. It told us that … Read more
Government Response
The government committed to publishing an impact assessment alongside draft levy regulations later this year and providing an update to the Committee before the end of 2025 on the interaction between remediation policies and housebuilding ambitions.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 45 of 20 classified
Accepted 28
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 5
Not Addressed 3
Rejected 2
Total 20 recs + 26 conclusions
Correspondence 5 letters
15 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government relating to the response to Treasury Minute 17: Remediation of Dangerous Cladding, 08 September 2025
Parliament page
4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government relating to the 17th Report of Session 2024-25, The remediation of dangerous cladding, recommendation 2, 18 July 2025
Parliament page
17 Jul 2025 From committee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government relating to the Treasury Minute response on The remediation of dangerous cladding, 17 July 2025
Parliament page
27 Mar 2025 To committee Letter from the Executive Director at Home Builders Federation relating to the challenges affecting housebuilding: Building Safety Levy, 17 March 2025
Parliament page
3 Mar 2025 To committee Letter from the End Our Cladding Scandal & Non-Qualifying Leaseholders relating to Committee’s inquiry into Dangerous Cladding, 17 February 2025
Parliament page