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Cladding remediation could take 22 years, Labour warns
Efforts to remove dangerous cladding from high rise buildings could take as long as 22 years, according to the Labour party.
Analysis by the opposition party found that between May 2020 and April 2021, an average of eight buildings a month had aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding removed.
Meanwhile a further 2,017 are still on the waiting list.
It said at the current pace, it would take 262 months to fix the affected buildings.
Of the buildings over 18 metres tall where works had begun, 217 were incomplete and 107 still had ACM cladding on their facades.
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Today marks the fourth anniversary since the Grenfell fire, which sparked the need to reform unsafe, potentially flammable materials used on high-rise buildings.
Lucy Powell MP, shadow housing secretary, said: “How many more years will the government allow people to live in unsafe homes?
“The government’s woeful lack of leadership is condemning hundreds of thousands of people to a living nightmare, wondering if the next disaster will occur on their block. The whole system is clogged, and most of the funding hasn’t even been paid out.”
She added: “We cannot pass another Grenfell anniversary with people living in unsafe homes. The government should set a deadline to make all homes safe by June 2022, and back this up with funding, enforcement and support for residents at the heart of this crisis.”
‘Irresponsible scaremongering’
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) disputed Labour’s claims and suggested they were causing fear.
The spokesperson said: “These misleading claims are completely false. It is irresponsible scaremongering which ignores the significant progress that has been made in removing dangerous cladding. Work is completed or underway in 95 per cent of buildings identified by the start of 2020 as having ACM cladding.
“Our priority is making sure residents are safe by removing dangerous cladding from the highest risk buildings as quickly as possible, backed by over £5bn of government funding.”