Select committee: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 23
2nd Report - Cladding: progress of remediation
Published 12 Jun 2020
Paragraph 80
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
A Fire Safety Reinsurance scheme would be comprehensive and provide long-term security to residents in affected buildings. However, we hope and expect that this will not be a long-term problem. We recognise concerns that a full ‘Re’ scheme would require primary legislation, take time and cost millions to implement, while applying only to a relatively small number of buildings. Our expectation is that a simple solution would be more appropriate. The Government should act as an insurer of last resort for buildings unable to obtain insurance. For other buildings, the Government should underwrite a percentage of the insurance on any affected high- rise and high-risk buildings where premiums have increased by more than 50% in the last two years, to reduce costs for residents.
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, 2nd Report - Cladding: progress of remediation (HC 172), paragraph 80, 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".