London Councils has welcomed the launch of the government’s Remediation Action Plan, setting out measures for faster fixing of buildings in England with unsafe cladding.
Cllr Grace Williams, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing & Regeneration, said:
“Like the government, we want to see faster action in removing unsafe cladding and ensuring that all residents are safe – and feel safe – in their homes.
“This is a particular concern in London, where we have 67% of all the UK’s high-rise residential buildings. Although good progress has been made in removing unsafe cladding from council-owned blocks and taking action against the owners of private buildings, there remain immense challenges and much more work to do.
“Boroughs’ lack of resources are a critical factor holding back the enforcement and remediation we all want to see. We welcome the government’s commitment to investing in enforcement and look forward to seeing more details on this.”
To address the barriers to remediating buildings with unsafe cladding, London Councils’ priority asks to the government include:
Increasing specialist resources for inspections in London. The Joint Inspection Team created by the previous government is a valued initiative, but more resources are needed to speed up inspection times and expedite enforcement action against building owners.
Broadening the eligibility criteria for government building safety funding so that councils and housing associations can access public funding to cover the costs for social housing tenanted properties. Under the current system, councils and housing associations’ access to government funding via the Building Safety Fund (BSF) and the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) is severely restricted. Councils and housing associations can access funding to support leaseholders, but they explicitly exclude social landlords and their tenants from accessing public funding for remediation.
Greater clarity on roles and responsibilities following the Building Safety Act coming into force in April 2024, including transition arrangements for the Building Safety Regulator’s enforcement of high-risk buildings.
Developing a long-term strategy to address workforce skills and capacity gaps to develop and retain the professionals needed to deliver building safety remediation. This includes the shortage of qualified professionals able to assess the safety of buildings of all heights.
London Councils highlights the enormous pressures on boroughs’ social housing budgets. Earlier this year the cross-party group warned of a £700m “black hole” in boroughs’ social housing finances despite the clear need to invest in building safety, as well as developing new social housing.
