Deputy Prime Minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner has called for the remediation of unsafe buildings to be completed quickly.
These comments came after a fire at a residential tower block in Dagenham, London, this week. The building was undergoing works to remove unsafe cladding on the top two floors of the property. The cause of the fire has not been identified.
On Wednesday, Rayner and Building Safety Minister Rushanara Ali held a roundtable urging regulators and partners to increase the pace of remediation.
Rayner said: “Speeding up the remediation of buildings is absolutely critical.
“Seven years on from Grenfell, action has been far too slow and the fire in Dagenham is a horrific reminder of the risk unsafe cladding still poses to far too many people.
“This government will expect more from regulators and partners to make sure action is being taken now to make homes safe, speed up remediation and ensure that buildings in the process of being remediated are managed safely for residents.”
Ali added: “I would like to thank the emergency services, council and wider community for all they have done following the fire in Dagenham.
“It is absolutely essential that central and local government, regulators, and partners come together, as we have today, to drive fast and effective change to get buildings fixed, made safe and make sure residents are protected.”
As of July this year, government data showed 4,630 residential buildings had unsafe cladding. This was 17 more than those identified in June.
Of these, 29% of – or 1,350 – properties have completed remediation, while a fifth – or 949 – have started remediation. Half of the properties identified – 2,331 – have not started works to make them fire safe.
There are an estimated 256,000 dwellings in the private and social sector in buildings taller than 11m with unsafe cladding that are being monitored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Of these, around 84,000 have completed remediation and 55,000 are in buildings where remediation is underway.
Last year, the government launched its biggest cladding remediation scheme to cover the funding of works and protect leaseholders from contributing to costs.
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
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