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Government tests on non-ACM cladding to start in March
Government-commissioned tests on non-Grenfell-style cladding will begin in March, with the results expected to be published in the summer.
Housing minister Kit Malthouse said the Building Research Establishment (BRE) would start testing on non-aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding systems, while appearing before the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on Monday.
Appearing with him, Bob Ledsome, head of the building safety technical policy division at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said BRE’s final reports are expected “certainly by the summer”.
Asked if the government would seek to remove cladding found to be as dangerous as ACM cladding from existing buildings, Mr Malthouse said: “I can’t see that we’ll have any choice but to do that, yes.
“If it’s equivalent to ACM cladding and proven to be the same, then the tenants, leaseholders or whoever’s in the building would expect remediation.”
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At the last official count, 437 high rises in England have been found to use unsafe ACM cladding since the Grenfell Tower fire, with remediation work finished on 67 and started on another 99.
Insulation company Rockwool claims there are another 1,678 high-rise or high-risk buildings with non-ACM combustible facades.
Some social landlords have already taken steps to remove non-ACM cladding from their buildings.
Ministers have banned combustible materials on the outside of residential buildings taller than 18m.
Inside Housing first reported that the government was planning non-ACM tests in September 2017, though they were not publicly announced until July 2018.
Last week, Professor Richard Hull of the University of Central Lancashire warned “the next Grenfell-style disaster” would be in a high pressure laminate-clad block, due to the government’s exclusive focus on ACM.
Dame Judith Hackitt, who carried out a government-commissioned review of building regulations and fire safety in the Grenfell aftermath, also faced questions from the committee.
She said she believes guidance on ACM cladding systems is clear, but added that “there is now a big question” on whether more guidance is needed on other systems.
She also revealed her “regret” that it took seven months for ministers to announce full implementation of the review.
“As I made clear at the time when the report was first published, one of the real challenges throughout my review was people saying ‘but will government implement this?’, and it was waiting for that strong signal from government that I think caused us to lose some momentum between May and December,” Dame Judith said.
Asked about the government’s delay, Mr Malthouse said: “There were some steps taken but obviously, to be honest, much of the capacity of the department was initially focused on the requirements of remediation in the aftermath of Grenfell.”
