Responding to the latest fire safety test result on
cladding and insulation announced today, Cllr Simon Blackburn,
Chair of the Local Government Association’s Safer and Stronger
Communities Board, said:
“Councils with a combination of ACM cladding and insulation
on their high-rise blocks have already taken steps and put in
measures to reassure residents about safety. It is important that
the testing process is now moving towards identifying what
materials landlords should be replacing these systems
with.
“We are talking to the councils affected about the costs
they now face to remove and replace cladding and insulation
systems on their high-rise blocks.
“With test fails affecting buildings owned by a range of
different landlords across the country, it is clear that the
current building regulation system has failed. It is also clear
that councils cannot afford to carry out this work.
“As a result, we remain firmly of the view that the
Government needs to meet the exceptional cost to councils of
removing and replacing cladding and insulation on high-rise
blocks.
“Councils want to ensure all residents in their local area
are safe in their homes, regardless of whether they own the block
or not. There are concerns that other landlords in some areas are
not acting as quickly to inform residents about test fails and
lack the urgency shown by councils to identify their buildings
with the cladding and insulation systems which have failed the
three tests so far and take steps to make them safe.
“We also continue to seek clarity from the Government about
the powers available to councils to help encourage landlords to
take such action.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
-
The results of
the fourth in the government’s series of large-scale fire
safety tests have been published by the Department for
Communities and Local Government.
-
16 councils own 46 high-rise blocks with a combination
of ACM cladding and insulation. The other 173 with
combinations of cladding and insulation tested so far are
owned by housing association, private and other
landlords.
