Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Sixteenth Report - Progress in remediating dangerous cladding
Public Accounts Committee
HC 406
Published 16 September 2020
Conclusions (25)
2
Conclusion
The Department is not fully funding the replacement of forms of dangerous cladding which are different from that used on Grenfell Tower, nor is it prioritising spending according to greatest risks or need. While the Department has established a new Building Safety Fund to finance the replacement of other forms …
3
Conclusion
The Department has no knowledge of how many care homes below 18 metres in height have dangerous cladding. The Department has published advice that the risks of unsafe cladding are increased for buildings, such as care homes, where there are residents who need significant assistance to evacuate. The Department is …
4
Conclusion
The Department has not done enough to address spiralling insurance costs and ‘nil’ mortgage valuations. Private leaseholders in blocks with dangerous cladding have received ‘nil’ valuations for their properties, meaning they have found it impossible to sell or remortgage, while their insurance premiums have risen over 400% in some cases. …
5
Conclusion
There is a shortage of specialist skills to support the remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding. There is a shortage of fire safety expertise, both in the enforcement and inspection of buildings with unsafe cladding; this has been a particular issue with fire engineers. To date, work has centred on …
1
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (the Department) about the remediation of dangerous of cladding on high-rise buildings.1
6
Conclusion
In a review commissioned jointly by the Department and the Home Office in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, Dame Judith Hackitt found that the building regulatory system was “not fit for purpose” to protect high-rise buildings.16 While the Department stressed that it was the construction industry that was …
7
Conclusion
Aluminium composite material cladding is not the only form of flammable cladding that has prompted serious safety concerns.19 In January 2020 the Department published 9 Q 19 10 Q 59 11 C&AG’s Report, paragraph 11 12 Hansard HC, 19 July 2019, vol 663, col 56WS. 13 Qq 20, 22 14 …
8
Conclusion
The Department told us it estimated the costs of replacing this cladding as between £3 billion and £3.5 billion; the new £1 billion fund would therefore be expected to cover up to a third of these costs. It said the fund was not designed to fund the replacement of all …
9
Conclusion
The Department intends for the £1 billion Building Safety Fund for non-ACM cladding to be committed in full by the end of the 2020–21 financial year. The National Audit Office has suggested that this timetable would pose potentially significant challenges for the Department to address.29 It would certainly require an …
10
Conclusion
The Department said it was unacceptable that buildings of any height had unsafe cladding, not just high-rise buildings (i.e. those above 18 metres in height). Nevertheless, it said it was not funding the replacement of cladding in buildings below 18 metres, but was seeking to strengthen the legal obligations on …
11
Conclusion
One category of buildings below 18 metres that might present increased risks are care homes. In January 2020 the Department published advice from its independent expert advisory panel that buildings of any height with residents who need significant assistance to evacuate exacerbate the risks presented by dangerous cladding.38 While acknowledging …
12
Conclusion
The Department understands there are around 40,000 care homes, sheltered homes, and hospitals (i.e. buildings with residents who might need significant assistance to evacuate) below 18 metres in England, of which 98% are below 11 metres (less than four storeys).40 That 2% are above four storeys would still equate to …
13
Conclusion
The number of residents living in buildings with unsafe cladding is not clear. The Department estimates there are over 20,000 homes in around 240 high-rise buildings yet to be remediated with unsafe cladding similar to that used on the Grenfell Tower.42 However, this number does not cover all buildings with …
14
Conclusion
Living in unsafe buildings has clearly impacted residents’ mental well-being. According to a survey undertaken by UK Cladding Action Group, of the 550 residents that took part, nine out of ten leaseholders in flats with unsafe cladding say their mental health has deteriorated as a direct result.44 We received written …
15
Conclusion
Private leaseholders’ emotional strain has been compounded by rising costs passed on to them by their building owners. These costs are often as a result of interim fire safety measures. The Department estimated a common interim measure, waking watches (overnight patrols to evacuate residents in case of fire), to range …
16
Conclusion
Additional costs may also arrive through wider fire safety issues discovered during remediation works and need correction. The National Audit Office found that cladding inspection has revealed other significant flaws in construction and fire safety in many 42 Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Building Safety Programme: Monthly Data …
17
Conclusion
We asked the Department if it knew of any impact to social sector rents as a result of cladding replacement. It told us that it does not collect the information currently, but it has received information from social landlords, and is considering what further programme monitoring it can do.53 Insurance …
18
Conclusion
Leaseholders in blocks with dangerous cladding have had their properties valued nil, making it impossible for them to sell or remortgage. This issue was raised with us many times in written evidence from across the sector and confidentially from residents.54 It is unacceptable that leaseholders are in effect ‘mortgage prisoners’, …
19
Conclusion
However, the process has not been working as intended. The process can be expensive and lasts for only five years, with costs often passed onto leaseholders.57 The process has been slow; the demand for the work to inspect external walls has outweighed the supply of the professionals with the skills …
20
Conclusion
In response to our concern that leaseholders are receiving nil valuations, the Department told us that this is an “industry issue” but it is engaging with lenders and involving the Treasury on this.63 UK Finance wrote to us to say that it has been working with the sector to resolve …
21
Conclusion
We made it clear to the Department that professional indemnity insurance has been regularly brought to our attention by the industry and needs sorting as a priority.67 The Department told us that it is working with the Fire Industry Association and the Institution of Fire Engineers to look at the …
22
Conclusion
While leaseholders have been unable to move or remortgage, some have seen their insurances premiums rise significantly. For those in buildings with serious fire safety defects, there are examples of premiums rising by over 400%.69 This is on top of other additional costs faced by leaseholders. In response to the …
23
Conclusion
The National Audit Office found that there has been a shortage of skills or personnel needed to complete remediation work.72 However, shortages are not restricted to the removal and replacement of cladding. The Local Government Association wrote to us outlining the “chronic shortage of fire engineering and safety expertise, both …
24
Conclusion
We raised concerns with the Department about the ability to complete remediation work by the end of 2021 with the current skills capacity. The Department told us that it believes there is sufficient capacity, but recognised the timescale as “challenging”.77 The Department told us that the additional construction and consultancy …
25
Conclusion
The demand for resources to inspect and remediate buildings with safety concerns is already high and set to increase with the new £1 billion Building Safety Fund. The Department estimates there to be around 1,700 buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding within scope of the Building Safety Fund; this is in …