(Hampstead and Kilburn)
(Lab): My right hon. Friend will be aware that Camden
Council has done the testing in my constituency and, as a result,
has evacuated more than 3,000 people from the Chalcots estate.
The council is spending its own money to try to ensure that the
buildings are fit for purpose before the residents are placed in
them again. Does he agree that the Government should be giving
financial support to councils such as Camden after cutting their
budgets for years on end?
(Wentworth and Dearne)
(Lab): The short answer is yes; the longer answer is
that I pay tribute to Camden Council for taking the tough
decision that it had to make in those circumstances. My fear is
that other housing associations, councils and landlords of
high-rise blocks around the country will hold back or perhaps cut
corners because they know they cannot afford to do the works
required—either to remove and replace cladding, or to make the
inside safe and fully fire-safety compliant—and that they will do
so only because they cannot get a straight answer from this
Government on a clear commitment to up-front funding where it is
needed to make sure that this essential work is done. The
situation leaves hundreds of thousands of residents in tower
blocks around the country still uncertain as to whether their
block is safe...
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