UK Inquiry Tracker

Progress in remediating dangerous cladding

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 15 Jun 2020 Closed: 2 Dec 2020 Parliament page

After the Grenfell tower block fire tragedy that killed 71 people the Government established the Building Safety Programme, to “ensure that residents of high-rise residential buildings are safe, and feel safe from the risk of fire”. The Grenfell Inquiry said it was essential that similar cladding was removed from the … Read more After the Grenfell tower block fire tragedy that killed 71 people the Government established the Building Safety Programme, to “ensure that residents of high-rise residential buildings are safe, and feel safe from the risk of fire”. The Grenfell Inquiry said it was essential that similar cladding was removed from the exterior of high-rise buildings “as quickly as possible”. In May 2018 MHCLG made £400 million available for the remediation of dangerous cladding from high-rise flats in the social housing sector, and in May 2019 announced a further £200 million for the remediation of equivalent buildings in the private housing sector. Nearly three years later, the NAO report into remediating dangerous cladding on high-rise buildings finds that only about one third of the buildings which fit the specification for the work - 18 metres and above with unsafe “aluminium composite material” (ACM) cladding systems - had been fully remediated, leaving 307 of the total 456 where remediation was not yet finished, and work has not yet begun on 167 of those. The original deadline for completing all these buildings was this month, June 2020. Not all buildings with dangerous ACM cladding fall within scope of the government’s existing funding schemes for the social and private housing sectors, but the Department’s own Independent Expert Advisory Panel has advised that the most dangerous forms of ACM cladding are unsafe on buildings of any height, and that risks are increased in buildings with elderly and vulnerable residents. The Department now estimates that all buildings within the scope of its funding will now be remediated by mid-2022, but this new deadline does not take account of the impacts of COVID-19: there are early signs that the epidemic has slowed the pace of remediation, with up to 60% of projects that were under way paused by April 2020. The pace of remediation has been slowest in the private residential sector, with only 13.5% of private sector residential buildings fixed: by the end of April 2020, the Department had paid out £1.42 million (0.7%) from the £200 million private sector fund compared to £133 million (33.3%) from the £400 million social sector fund. It has been difficult to identify those legally responsible for private buildings, and they have “required more support than was expected”. The owners of 84 private sector residential buildings have committed to fund remediation, with a further 23 self-funded through warranty claims. The Government expects to pay for 94 projects out of 208 in the private sector, where the developer or building owner has not agreed to fund remediation themselves. Seven buildings have not agreed a funding route. In the social sector, the Department has committed to fund 139 out of 154 residential buildings. In March 2020 the Department announced a further £1 billion funding for the remediation of other unsafe cladding, not ACM, on high-rise buildings in the social and private residential sectors. The NAO reports that administration of this new scheme may present significant challenges, given the issues with the existing fund of around half the size. On Monday 6 July the Committee will question officials from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the Government’s progress on remediating dangerous cladding. If you have evidence on the questions and issues raised in this report, please submit it here by 5.30pm on Thursday 2 July. Show less

13 Recommendations

12 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

4 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 7 events

14 Jun
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, re In response to the P…

1 Mar
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, re Progress in remedia…

26 Jan
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, re Remediation of dang…

13 Jan
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, re Building Safety Fun…

18 Nov
2020

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sixteenth report from Session 2019-21

16 Sep
2020

Report published

Sixteenth Report - Progress in remediating dangerous cladding

6 Jul
2020

Oral evidence

Progress in remediating dangerous cladding

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

6 Jul 2020

View on parliament.uk

Progress in remediating dangerous cladding

Jeremy Pocklington · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Neil 0'Connor · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Sixteenth Report - Progress in remediating dangerous cladding	HC 406	16 Sep 2020	25	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 results

2 Recommendation Accepted in Part

Sixteenth Report - Progress in rem…

The Department is not fully funding the replacement of forms of dangerous cladding which are...

The Department is not fully funding the replacement of forms of dangerous cladding which are different from that used on Grenfell Tower, nor is it prioritising spending according to greatest risks or need. While the Department has established a new … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the recommendation but does not commit to publishing the requested impact assessment or writing to the committee within three months, instead outlining existing funding and legislative proposals to address unsafe cladding and building safety charges.

HM Treasury

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5 Recommendation Accepted in Part

Sixteenth Report - Progress in rem…

There is a shortage of specialist skills to support the remediation of buildings with unsafe...

There is a shortage of specialist skills to support the remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding. There is a shortage of fire safety expertise, both in the enforcement and inspection of buildings with unsafe cladding; this has been a particular … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the recommendation with a December 2020 target. It notes it has engaged industry from the outset and established an Industry Response Group, and is addressing fire expertise and indemnity insurance through joint workstreams, suggesting the concerns are being tackled through ongoing efforts rather than a new specific assessment within three months.

HM Treasury

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18 Recommendation Accepted in Part

Sixteenth Report - Progress in rem…

Leaseholders in blocks with dangerous cladding have had their properties valued nil, making it impossible...

Leaseholders in blocks with dangerous cladding have had their properties valued nil, making it impossible for them to sell or remortgage. This issue was raised with us many times in written evidence from across the sector and confidentially from residents.54 … Read more

Government Response

The government acknowledges the issue of nil valuations and states it does not support a blanket use of the EWS1 process for all buildings, actively encouraging lenders to adopt a more proportionate response and use alternative evidence.

HM Treasury

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20 Recommendation Accepted in Part

Sixteenth Report - Progress in rem…

In response to our concern that leaseholders are receiving nil valuations, the Department told us...

In response to our concern that leaseholders are receiving nil valuations, the Department told us that this is an “industry issue” but it is engaging with lenders and involving the Treasury on this.63 UK Finance wrote to us to say … Read more

Government Response

The government reiterates its position, stating it does not support a blanket use of the EWS1 process and is encouraging lenders to adopt a more proportionate response and use alternative evidence for valuation assessments.

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 25 of 13 classified

Accepted 15

Accepted in Part 4

Acknowledged 4

Not Addressed 2

Total 13 recs + 12 conclusions

Correspondence 4 letters

14 Jun 2021 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, re In response to the Public Accounts Committee’s 16th Report of Session 2019-2021 ‘Progress in remediating dangerous cladding’, dated 7 June 2021

Parliament page

1 Mar 2021 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, re Progress in remediating dangerous cladding, 24 February 2021

Parliament page

26 Jan 2021 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, re Remediation of dangerous cladding, dated 18 January 2021

Parliament page

13 Jan 2021 Correspondence from Jeremy Pocklington, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, re Building Safety Fund – Risks of committing all £1bn by end of March 2021, dated 22 December 2020

Parliament page