A report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the target to complete works on all buildings 12 years after the Grenfell fire partly relied on new legislation, and said the plan was “insufficiently ambitious” and “at risk of not delivering what is promised”.
The PAC said it was “appalled” at the continued emotional and financial impact of the crisis. It added that the Government still did not know how many buildings had dangerous cladding, how much it would cost to fix or how long it would take.
Evidence to its inquiry found people still felt trapped in their homes, faced financial uncertainty and were unable to sell their homes. It also revealed disputes over safety were delaying work from starting, and criticised the Government for not creating a formal dispute resolution process.
The PAC said there was a risk of residents in affected buildings facing “exorbitant” insurance premiums and said the Government was not doing enough to address this.
It said nearly 7,000 buildings were still unidentified and there was still no way of securing financial contributions from the manufacturers of dangerous cladding.
How life insurance can benefit your health and wellbeing over the decades
Sponsored by Post Office
The report also said the Government seemed “complacent” about the potential lack of skills in the industry undermining its plan.
PAC called on the Government to give an update on how it would address gaps in its plan.
Impact on housebuilding
The report also stated that this could impact housebuilding, as the risk of paying for remediation was leading social housing providers to move resources away from building new homes.
The PAC asked the Government to formally assess the impact of cladding remediation policy on housebuilding by the end of the year.
Further, the report found that half a million pounds was “lost to suspected fraud” when protections were relaxed to get money out to projects quickly through the Building Safety Fund.
PAC said the Government should strengthen counter-fraud controls.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the committee, said: “The Grenfell tower fire will forever be a badge of shame for the nation. Residents were let down by failings at every level. A community was traumatised and 72 lives were lost. Rightly, all in positions of responsibility have vowed to do everything in our power to prevent such a disaster ever happening again.
“But eight years after Grenfell, it is still not known how many buildings out there have dangerous cladding, and when it will be removed. That vow remains unkept for every day that is still the case.”
Clifton-Brown said as a chartered surveyor, he took a “deep personal interest in building safety”.
“I was utterly appalled by the evidence given to our inquiry, showing residents still mired in the national cladding crisis, with no immediate solutions at hand,” he added.
Clifton-Brown said: “Leaseholders with modest financial means can often be left with potentially large financial liabilities, effectively rendering their property unsaleable. There are two main reasons for this – one, the non-cladding defects in buildings, and two, where leaseholders also have a share in the freehold. That crisis shows signs of having a chilling effect on housebuilding overall, with social housing providers forced to divert resources to remediation rather than badly needed new homes. Despite long-standing promises to make industry pay, Government has yet to find a way to secure this outcome.
“It would have [of] course been the committee’s wish that this report carried better news for all affected. Unfortunately, we are united with campaigners in deeply regrettable scepticism that current remediation plans are capable of delivering on what’s promised. We would therefore urge Government to look to the recommendations in our report, to help close the gap between their current plans, and the reality on the ground.”
This article was first published on YourMoney.com‘s sister site, Mortgage Solutions. Read: Govt ‘at risk of not delivering’ plan to remediate cladding, say MPs
