BSC responds to cladding announcement

Posted on Tuesday 11 January 2022

MICHAEL GOVE, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing, has set out plans to raise £4bn to replace combustible cladding on buildings of heights between 11m and 18m.

Commenting on the announcement, Mike Robinson, chief executive of British Safety Council said, “Today’s announcement is a positive step forward as it will hopefully take the burden off many thousands of leaseholders facing large costs to replace unsafe cladding. It is also of course right that the construction industry continues to play its part in helping to resolve these issues.

“The Government must also shoulder its own responsibilities, having overseen the regulatory framework that led to Grenfell and other similar tragedies. We need to see all sides taking a positive and constructive approach to discussions between now and March.

“The sad truth is the funds announced today may also not go far enough. They will not pay leaseholders’ costs for other issues beyond cladding that aren’t included in these plans, such as balconies on a building that have been built with flammable material.

“The Grenfell fire showed how broad the building safety crisis is, spanning not just construction but design, manufacturing, fire safety and building management. However, there is no excuse for it having taken over four and half years to get to this point and these other issues also need to be approached with urgency.”