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ACM cladding work completed on seven buildings
Work to remove and replace dangerous cladding from social housing high rises has now completed on seven buildings since the Grenfell Tower fire, new figures show.
At the latest count on 16 February, remediation work had started on 92 (58%) of the 158 social housing blocks identified as having non-compliant aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding in the wake of the devastating blaze last June.
That is up from 57 on the previous data release in January, which was accurate at 20 December last year. The release before that, accurate at 10 November, also said cladding removal work had started on 57 buildings.
At the time of the previous release, replacement cladding had been fully installed on three social housing high rises.
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The latest round of figures were released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) today.
However, the release does not include data on how many buildings have had their cladding completely stripped and the number where social landlords have started to install new cladding.
Both of these figures were given in the two previous releases. A spokesperson for MHCLG said that reporting on four stages of cladding work progress had been “an interim arrangement”.
“Remediation work involves addressing any issues with the exterior cladding system and broader fire safety systems for each building,” the release states.
“All of this work takes time and varies considerably depending on the building structure, extent of cladding and existing fire safety systems.
“For many buildings this is a complex job involving major construction work which needs to be planned, consulted on and carried out carefully.”
Hazardous ACM cladding has been identified on 130 private residential buildings, including hotels and student accommodation, with data still being collected on remediation work.
The government is to provide another £1m to help “the most affected” local authorities identify private buildings with dangerous cladding, on top of £289,000 previously allocated.
Lucy Grove, Grenfell programme lead at the National Housing Federation, said: “Government has recognised that much of the remedial work is complex and will take time to complete.
"Whilst the data shows nearly 60% of social housing buildings now have contractors on site, all housing associations we’ve spoken to have started the remedial work in some way, such as working with teams of experts on designing a remedial solution or securing building control sign off for planned works.
“We do know that some housing associations are experiencing problems with accessing fire safety tests, lengthy waits on new materials and problems accessing qualified professionals such as expert cladders.
"To limit delays, government should lead a national, co-ordinated response to ensure that resources and capacity are directed strategically and buildings most at risk are prioritised.”
Update: at 17.00 on 27.2.18 This story was updated to include a comment from Lucy Grove.
Update: at 17.36 on 27.2.18 MHCLG’s explanation for the absence of some figures in the release was added to the story.
