Government ready to ‘name and shame’ over cladding remediation

The government is close to “naming and shaming” those owners of buildings who have yet to take any action to remove dangerous cladding from high-risk residential buildings.

On the eve of publication of the first report into the Grenfell tragedy, which is due out tomorrow (Wednesday), housing secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured) told MPs on the local government select committee he wanted building owners who had yet to apply for cash from the government’s £200m remediation fund to do so as quickly as possible.

The fund, set up to support building owners’ efforts to remediate tower blocks featuring ACM cladding, closes in December.

Noting that 22 privately-owned high-risk residential buildings currently had no plans in place to have their ACM cladding removed, Jenrick said: “The present situation is not acceptable. I have said it is frankly shameful if building owners do not take advantage of this [fund], bearing in mind the taxpayer is paying for it.”

Jenrick, who announced Dame Judith Hackitt would be advising his department on the makeup of the new Building Safety Regulator, said the government was “working through any issues” owners might have so that they can apply for funding and get work going “as soon as possible”.

But he warned: “We are close to the point of naming and shaming those building owners who haven’t applied, who haven’t taken action and where there are no acceptable extenuating circumstances.

“And we are considering what other more meaningful steps, besides naming and shaming, we could take. But I’m hopeful building owners will come forward.”

Jenrick confirmed the government would still pay for remediation in cases where building owners had not applied. “There is no question of us walking away from that commitment,” he said, although he refused to confirm the government would compensate those leaseholders who faced huge bills to pay for the removal of non-ACM but still potentially dangerous cladding, such as timber.

The latest government data for the 168 privately-owned residential buildings featuring ACM cladding showed owners of 24 had started remediation, 76 had a remediation plan in place but had yet to start work, 46 had announced an intent to remediate and were developing plans, and 22 had what the government called “unclear remediation plans”.

Grilled by MPs for two hours yesterday, Jenrick also confirmed he was committed to the government’s target of building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. “The 300,000 figure was always ambitious, but it’s one I intend to work towards.”

Jenrick admitted that the housing market was softening, notably in London and the south east, which he said was due in part to the current uncertainty around Brexit, adding “which is why we want to get Brexit done and move on”.