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 in 2020, this rose from around 450 buildings with ACM cladding to include a further 1,700 estimated buildings with other types of cladding. As well as a shortage of skills and personnel needed to complete remediation works, the previous Committee heard evidence of a “chronic shortage of fire engineering and safety expertise”, both for enforcement and inspection of buildings with unsafe cladding.26 Responding to the Committee, MHCLG said it had engaged with 23 Qq 1–2; RDC0145, Written evidence submitted by End Our Cladding Scandal; Letter from End Our Cladding Scandal to Chair, Committee of Public Accounts, 17 February 2025; C&AG’s Report, para 1.14 24 Qq 109–114; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Press release, Government to protect leaseholders with new laws to make industry pay for building safety, February 2022 25 Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Redress measures: information sheet, 18 October 2022 26 Committee of Public Accounts, Progress in remediating dangerous cladding, Sixteenth Report of Session 2019-21, HC 406, 16 September 2020, paras 23-25 14 industry from the outset of the programme to ensure sufficient capacity exists, was aware of challenges with fire expertise and had a number of workstreams in train to address these issues.27