ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

Grenfell product manufacturers should make contributions towards building safety costs, says minister

Manufacturers of products that were used on Grenfell Tower should be making contributions towards the cost of solving the cladding crisis, the minister responsible for building safety has said.

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Lord Greenhalgh said the findings from the Grenfell Inquiry were “mind-boggling” (picture: Parliament TV)
Lord Greenhalgh said the findings from the Grenfell Inquiry were “mind-boggling” (picture: Parliament TV)
Sharelines

Lord Greenhalgh called the revelations from the Grenfell Inquiry “mind-boggling” and said product manufacturers should be made to pay #UKhousing

Speaking at a meeting of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee yesterday, Lord Greenhalgh said a policy could be developed to raise funding from product manufacturers in addition to the government’s previously announced plan to tax developers to pay for remediation work.

He said: “We should also see contributions from the product manufacturers – the very products that were put on Grenfell and have been used inappropriately where product testing has been gamed. So you know there’s an opportunity I think to develop policy to raise further funds.”

Over the previous few months the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has heard evidence from the manufacturers of the cladding and insulation that was used in the refurbishment of the tower.

Multiple incidences have been revealed of manufacturers manipulating fire tests to achieve positive results and misrepresenting the results of tests in marketing literature.

Lord Greenhalgh said he thought the inquiry’s findings in relation to the “cladding product and insulation manufacturers” were “mind-boggling” and that the fire safety testing regime had been “abused”.


READ MORE

ACM remediation far slower among blocks that have received government fundingACM remediation far slower among blocks that have received government funding
British Standards Institution withdraws fire safety guidance after legal threat from Grenfell bereavedBritish Standards Institution withdraws fire safety guidance after legal threat from Grenfell bereaved
Building control inspector who produced crucial certificate claims he was ‘misled’ by KingspanBuilding control inspector who produced crucial certificate claims he was ‘misled’ by Kingspan
Fire barrier installation on Grenfell ‘some of the worst I’ve seen’, says supplierFire barrier installation on Grenfell ‘some of the worst I’ve seen’, says supplier

The minister’s appearance at the HCLG Committee comes one month after the government announced additional measures to help alleviate the cladding crisis, including an additional £3.5bn on grant funding and a new levy scheme to raise funding from developers.

The government also announced a loan scheme for those living in buildings under 18m with dangerous cladding. The loans will be on a long-term, low-interest basis and leaseholders will not be asked to repay more than £50 per month.

When pressed by the HCLG Committee for details on the loan scheme, Lord Greenhalgh said the government was still working on the details.

He added that the plan is for the loan to sit with the building, rather than individual leaseholders, but could not answer who the debt would sit with as a legal entity.

Richard Goodman, director general of building safety, Grenfell and net zero at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, told the committee: “There are different options about how that liability structure could operate, which we will be testing.”

Clive Betts, committee chair, said the question of legal liability was “a very big issue” and that “leaseholders want reassuring about where their obligations are and aren’t in this matter”.

Sign up for our fire safety newsletter

Sign up for our fire safety newsletter
Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.