The government is at risk of not delivering on its promise of remediating cladding on all buildings over 18 metres by 2029, The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has warned.
As it stands up to 7,000 unsafe buildings are yet to be identified, and government has yet to find a way to secure financial contributions from manufacturers of dangerous cladding, the committee warned.
There is also insufficient capacity and skills across regulators, local authorities and the construction sector which risk undermining the plan – as the committee said the government “appears complacent” about the issue.
The committee called for a clear update from government on what is being done to address the gaps between its plan, and what will be required to deliver it.
It also raised concerns about social housing providers having to spend money on cladding remediation instead of funding new housing – an issue the committee said the government is not taking “seriously enough”.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the committee, said: “I was utterly appalled by the evidence given to our inquiry, showing residents still mired in the national cladding crisis, with no immediate solutions at hand.
“Leaseholders with modest financial means can often be left with potentially large financial liabilities, effectively rendering their property unsaleable. There are two main reasons for this – one, the non-cladding defects in buildings such as non-cladding defects, and two, where leaseholders also have a share in the freehold.
“That crisis shows signs of having a chilling effect on housebuilding overall, with social housing providers forced to divert resources to remediation rather than badly needed new homes. Despite longstanding promises to make industry pay, government has yet to find a way to secure this outcome.”
The Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people and injured a further 74 in June 2017.
The 2029 deadline for remediating cladding on all buildings over 18 metres would take place 12 years after the disaster, a deadline the committee called “insufficiently ambitious”.