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ACM remediation far slower among blocks that have received government funding
Private blocks that have received funding from the government’s cladding remediation fund are far less likely to have completed work than those that received no grant, data released today has revealed.
Of the 83 private blocks with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding that have completed remediation work, 73 (88%) have not received government funding, compared with just 10 (12%) that have.
A total of 215 private high-rise blocks have been identified with ACM cladding, the same type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower. Of those, 101 have received funding from part of the government’s private sector ACM cladding remediation fund.
Over a quarter (28%) of private buildings that have received ACM funding are yet to begin work, while work is in progress on 60% of these buildings.
The government’s data shows that there are still 223 high-rise buildings in England with ACM cladding that are yet to be fully remediated more than three and a half years after the fire at Grenfell, compared with 242 that have completed remediation.
All 157 buildings in the social sector have begun remediation work, however 66 (42%) are yet to complete work.
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At a meeting of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee earlier this week, building safety minister Lord Greenhalgh said the government did not think it was on track to have all buildings with ACM cladding fully remediated by the end of this year and that it will be “closer to 95% by quarter one next year”.
The update comes one month after the government announced a raft of measures to help fund the removal of dangerous non-ACM cladding from buildings, including an additional £3.5bn in grant for high-rise buildings and a loan scheme for leaseholders living in buildings under 18m.
A new levy will also be introduced for developers submitting planning applications for high-rise buildings, alongside an additional tax on the residential property sector.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Backed by £5bn funding, we’re making the biggest changes to building safety in a generation – with significant progress already underway.
“Despite the ongoing backdrop of the global pandemic, around 95% of buildings with unsafe ACM cladding identified in December 2019 have been fully remediated or have works on site – rising to 100% in the social housing sector.
“We continue to actively pursue building owners to encourage swift action, with this month’s figures showing a further 17 buildings have had their ACM cladding removed in the past month.”
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