Sixteenth Report - Progress in remediating dangerous cladding

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 406 16 September 2020
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 25 items (13 recs)
Government Response (AI assessment · 25 of 25 classified)
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sixteenth report from Session 2019-21 · published 18 Nov 2020

Recommendations & Conclusions

15 results
3 Recommendation Accepted
The Department has no knowledge of how many care homes below 18 metres in height...
Recommendation
The Department has no knowledge of how many care homes below 18 metres in height have dangerous cladding. The Department has published advice that the risks of unsafe cladding are increased for buildings, such as care homes, where there are … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to the recommendation, committing to work with MHCLG and sector representatives to improve understanding of fire safety risks in care homes below 18 metres and to provide an update on data collection by Spring 2021.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Accepted
The Department has not done enough to address spiralling insurance costs and ‘nil’ mortgage valuations.
Recommendation
The Department has not done enough to address spiralling insurance costs and ‘nil’ mortgage valuations. Private leaseholders in blocks with dangerous cladding have received ‘nil’ valuations for their properties, meaning they have found it impossible to sell or remortgage, while … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and aims for May 2021 implementation. It will encourage lenders to adopt proportionate EWS1 responses, lead cross-sector workstreams to resolve professional indemnity insurance and capacity issues, and work with industry on escalating insurance premiums. The department commits to provide an update by December 2020.
HM Treasury
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7 Recommendation Accepted
Aluminium composite material cladding is not the only form of flammable cladding that has prompted...
Recommendation
Aluminium composite material cladding is not the only form of flammable cladding that has prompted serious safety concerns.19 In January 2020 the Department published 9 Q 19 10 Q 59 11 C&AG’s Report, paragraph 11 12 Hansard HC, 19 July … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, acknowledging non-ACM cladding concerns, outlining its actions to broaden the ban on combustible materials, and committing to provide an update on remediation progress by December 2020.
HM Treasury
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8 Recommendation Accepted
The Department told us it estimated the costs of replacing this cladding as between £3...
Recommendation
The Department told us it estimated the costs of replacing this cladding as between £3 billion and £3.5 billion; the new £1 billion fund would therefore be expected to cover up to a third of these costs. It said the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation and clarifies that the Building Safety Fund will prioritise remediation for buildings 18 metres and above where financial barriers are greatest, assessing eligibility based on risk and leaseholder finances, and will provide an update on financial support.
HM Treasury
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9 Recommendation Accepted
The Department intends for the £1 billion Building Safety Fund for non-ACM cladding to be...
Recommendation
The Department intends for the £1 billion Building Safety Fund for non-ACM cladding to be committed in full by the end of the 2020–21 financial year. The National Audit Office has suggested that this timetable would pose potentially significant challenges … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating it has engaged industry to ensure sufficient capacity and will provide an update on resources to inspect and remediate buildings by December 2020.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Accepted
The Department said it was unacceptable that buildings of any height had unsafe cladding, not...
Conclusion
The Department said it was unacceptable that buildings of any height had unsafe cladding, not just high-rise buildings (i.e. those above 18 metres in height). Nevertheless, it said it was not funding the replacement of cladding in buildings below 18 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department commits to writing to the Committee in spring 2021 to provide an update on the data collection exercise regarding external wall systems on 11-18 metre high residential buildings.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Accepted
The Department understands there are around 40,000 care homes, sheltered homes, and hospitals (i.e.
Conclusion
The Department understands there are around 40,000 care homes, sheltered homes, and hospitals (i.e. buildings with residents who might need significant assistance to evacuate) below 18 metres in England, of which 98% are below 11 metres (less than four storeys).40 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government commits to writing to the Committee in Spring 2021 with an update on data collection for external wall systems of 11-18 metres high residential buildings, addressing the committee's observation about data on care homes.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Accepted
The number of residents living in buildings with unsafe cladding is not clear.
Conclusion
The number of residents living in buildings with unsafe cladding is not clear. The Department estimates there are over 20,000 homes in around 240 high-rise buildings yet to be remediated with unsafe cladding similar to that used on the Grenfell … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government commits to writing to the Committee in Spring 2021 with an update on data collection for external wall systems of 11-18 metres high residential buildings, directly addressing the committee's concern about unclear numbers of affected residents in such buildings.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Accepted
Living in unsafe buildings has clearly impacted residents’ mental well-being.
Conclusion
Living in unsafe buildings has clearly impacted residents’ mental well-being. According to a survey undertaken by UK Cladding Action Group, of the 550 residents that took part, nine out of ten leaseholders in flats with unsafe cladding say their mental … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation, committing to providing greater transparency for residents, giving them a stronger voice through the Building Safety Bill, and allocating £1.6 billion for remediation. It is also investigating steps to reduce waking watch costs and encourages use of more cost-effective measures.
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion Accepted
Private leaseholders’ emotional strain has been compounded by rising costs passed on to them by...
Conclusion
Private leaseholders’ emotional strain has been compounded by rising costs passed on to them by their building owners. These costs are often as a result of interim fire safety measures. The Department estimated a common interim measure, waking watches (overnight … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states that it has already published data on waking watch costs in October 2020 to provide transparency, and the National Fire Chiefs Council has already published updated guidance promoting cost-effective interim measures.
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16 Conclusion Accepted
Additional costs may also arrive through wider fire safety issues discovered during remediation works and...
Conclusion
Additional costs may also arrive through wider fire safety issues discovered during remediation works and need correction. The National Audit Office found that cladding inspection has revealed other significant flaws in construction and fire safety in many 42 Ministry of … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's (implicit) recommendation, outlining actions such as speeding up remediation of wider fire safety issues, providing £1.6bn subsidy, publishing advice notes, consulting on a new Building Safety Regulator, working with RICS on valuation, and updating on data collection for 11-18m buildings.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Accepted
We asked the Department if it knew of any impact to social sector rents as...
Conclusion
We asked the Department if it knew of any impact to social sector rents as a result of cladding replacement. It told us that it does not collect the information currently, but it has received information from social landlords, and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government has accepted the implied recommendation for better data collection and is developing a new system for external wall systems, which will capture key building data and tenure, with collection expected to start in early 2021.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Accepted
However, the process has not been working as intended.
Conclusion
However, the process has not been working as intended. The process can be expensive and lasts for only five years, with costs often passed onto leaseholders.57 The process has been slow; the demand for the work to inspect external walls … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's concerns, setting a May 2021 target. It is encouraging lenders to use a more proportionate approach for EWS1 forms, has joint workstreams to address professional capacity and indemnity insurance, and is working with industry on building insurance challenges. The department will update the committee by December 2020.
HM Treasury
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24 Recommendation Accepted
We raised concerns with the Department about the ability to complete remediation work by the...
Recommendation
We raised concerns with the Department about the ability to complete remediation work by the end of 2021 with the current skills capacity. The Department told us that it believes there is sufficient capacity, but recognised the timescale as “challenging”.77 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government describes its ongoing efforts, stating it has engaged industry from the outset to ensure sufficient capacity and address supply chain blockages, including establishing the Industry Response Group.
HM Treasury
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25 Recommendation Accepted
The demand for resources to inspect and remediate buildings with safety concerns is already high...
Recommendation
The demand for resources to inspect and remediate buildings with safety concerns is already high and set to increase with the new £1 billion Building Safety Fund. The Department estimates there to be around 1,700 buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, outlining that it has engaged industry to ensure capacity and established an Industry Response Group, and will provide an update on resources to the Committee by December 2020.
HM Treasury
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