Thread by @rachaelvenables

🚨This report finds only 1/3 of all high-rise buildings with ACM cladding (the same type as Grenfell) have had it removed. Even though the Government's deadline was June 2020: " Progress has been unacceptably
slow"

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmse…

- 155 out of 455 buildings have had the cladding fully removed.
- The Dept Housing made £600m available to pay for ACM removal BUT by April 2020 it had only paid out £134m "due in part to difficulties in working with private building owners."

The main recommendation from the Public Accounts Committee is for the MHCLG to meet their new deadline - removing all ACM cladding by the end of 2021. Even though they say "the Government has no convincing plan for how it will meet that new deadline though."

The PAC also raises concerns about the fact that MHCLG has no knowledge of how many care homes shorter than 18 metres tall have dangerous ACM cladding.

It demands they carry out that research by the end of the year.

The PAC also slams the Dept for "not fully funding the replacement of [other] dangerous cladding...nor is it
prioritising spending according to greatest risks or need."

The Govt have put up £1b 'first come first served,' when the real cost for fixing all high rises will be £3b

AND there's a very interesting/concerning section about the skills shortage. We know there's not enough engineers to survey these buildings, but also “a chronic shortage of fire engineering and safety expertise, both in the enforcement and inspection field and private sector”.

Concluding comment from the Committee chair @Meg_HillierMP: “the Government must step up and show that it will put a stop to the bickering over who is responsible, who’s going to pay for the remediation – and just put this right.” @LBC