You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Councils have no information on privately owned tower blocks despite government push
Many councils do not have any information about privately owned tower blocks in their area despite a government drive to gather records on blocks with potentially dangerous cladding.
A third of councils – 75 out of 223 to respond to an Inside Housing Freedom of Information Act request – either do not have any information about privately owned tower blocks in their area or what type of cladding is on the blocks three months after the government told councils to collect this information.
In total, 50 had no information about the number of privately owned tower blocks in their area. Of the 87 councils that had identified privately owned tower blocks in their area, 25 councils (29%) could not say what type of cladding was on these blocks.
READ MORE
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) wrote to councils in September to provide them with a list of privately owned tower blocks and told them to start contacting the owners of blocks to build up a record of tower blocks that may have aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding.
However, Manchester City Council said this funding is yet to materialise and the list of tower blocks it received from the DCLG was incomplete and did not match the records held by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
The government has made a total of £289,000 available to help councils pay for collecting this information. The funding was sent to councils at the end of October.
Read more about fire safety issues in private blocks here
Across the 223 councils, 15 are aware of ACM cladding on a total of 34 privately owned blocks in their areas. These councils have contacted the building owners and are in discussions over what action to take to ensure the buildings are safe from fire risk.
The DCLG expects councils to draw up a list of which tower blocks do not have ACM, the building owners’ strategy to put in interim fire safety measures for buildings that do have ACM, and why any buildings with ACM have not been tested.
Manchester City Council also said it had not heard back from every private block owner and it is not convinced current legislation is “wide enough” for it to take enforcement action.
A DCLG spokesperson said: “Since June, we have been urging private sector building owners to make use of the government’s free ACM screening tests and report the results to their local authorities.
“We are providing additional funds to local authorities so that they can collect information on the privately owned buildings in their area themselves. Any council concerned about this should get in touch with DCLG.”
Grenfell: six months on
We have published a series of articles to mark the six month anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 71 people on 14 June.
Click on the links below to read the pieces:
Six months on from Grenfell, what has changed? Our news team looks at the progress made since the fire
Grenfell: the survivors' stories Read moving speeches to MPs from four people who survived the fire
Councils have no information on privately owned tower blocks It is not just social housing blocks councils need to keep an eye on when it comes to fire safety
Disguised by luxury: fire safety flaws in private blocks revealed Our research challenges Sajid Javid's suggestion a Grenfell-style fire couldn't happen in a luxury block
We need to go much further on fire safety Our editor Emma Maier outlines Inside Housing's view on the state of play
Half of high rises could get sprinkler refit We reveal the sector's projected spend on fire safety improvements since the disaster
The French connection The parallels between a fire in France and the Grenfell tragedy
Less than half of council tower blocks assessed since Grenfell Our exclusive research reveals the state of play regarding councils' fire risk assessments
Circus therapy for children affected by Grenfell How a group offering circus activities is bringing the community together
Dangerous cladding to be removed from giant modular tower blocks Housing association Notting Hill Housing is to spend £8m to remove dangerous material on six of its blocks
