Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Conclusion 20
2nd Report - Cladding: progress of remediation
Published 12 Jun 2020
Paragraph 71
Addressed to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Cladding: progress on remediation All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We note the Minister’s view that some of the charges to residents for interim fire safety measures are “usurious”. We agree that greater transparency of costs could lead to lower charges for residents, but more could be done to protect residents. Last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) undertook an investigation into the leasehold sector at this Committee’s request, finding evidence of excessive and disproportionate fees charged to leaseholders. We now call on the CMA to investigate these “usurious” charges for interim fire safety measures, as part of its ongoing work into the leasehold sector.
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, 2nd Report - Cladding: progress of remediation (HC 172), paragraph 71, 12 June 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 8 September 2020.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out funding, enforcement and legislative measures, mainly through the draft Building Safety Bill, and responds to each of the Committee's recommendations without adopting its calls for a wider fund or fixed deadlines.
- On funding, the government says public money should not be the only means of remediation, and that building owners "should meet the costs without passing them on to leaseholders wherever possible". The £1bn fund is available in 2020/21 and will incentivise pace.
- On timing, it sets an expectation that building owners will have works on site for removal of unsafe ACM cladding "by the end of 2020", with completion "by the end of 2021". It does not adopt the Committee's broader targets.
- On compulsory purchase, it says no local authority has yet seriously considered CPO, but "we have not ruled out any options, including CPOs, if the pace of remediation remains too slow".
- On historic remedial costs not covered by the £1.6 billion, Michael Wade will "accelerate work on identifying options", with an update "before the final Building Safety Bill is introduced to Parliament".