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Government criticised for fire safety test delays
Housing bodies and politicians have criticised the government for not publishing results of tests on cladding materials covering hundreds of buildings across the country, as it has emerged that some of these tests are still to be completed.
The government has been blasted for delaying the publication of test results on cladding not made of aluminium composite material (ACM) until it has carried out all its tests, with some figures saying the sector may have to wait until after the summer for this to happen.
Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, which killed 72 people, the government carried out tests on ACM cladding, the material used on the tower. It subsequently deemed the material unsafe and demanded its removal from high-rise blocks.
Tests on non-ACM, however, only began in spring this year, despite several bodies calling for tests in the immediate aftermath of Grenfell.
The programme includes tests on high-pressure laminate (HPL) cladding, which fire safety experts think can be more dangerous than ACM in some cases.
Lord Gary Porter, spokesperson for building safety at the Local Government Association (LGA), said the LGA called to test other types of cladding materials in autumn 2017. He said the delays were “outrageous”.
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He added that the LGA had initially been told that the tests would be ready in June, then July, and now he understands that it could be “October before we get the results”.
Lord Porter added: “I’m getting frustrated by the inability of people to take it as seriously as it ought to be.”
The comments come as a report by MPs heavily criticised the government’s lack of progress on fire safety since the Grenfell Tower fire. The report by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee criticised the testing programme of non-ACM cladding materials, calling progress “too slow” and urging the government to accelerate. The report also suggested that some tests of non-ACM materials had already been completed but government had decided not to make the decisions public yet.
Lord Porter said these needed to be released so that those living in the buildings knew they were safe. He called it “insane” that the government would wait before all the results were completed.
Inside Housing has previously reported that a number of housing associations are waiting until the government publishes its results on non-ACM materials before deciding whether to carry out remediation work.
The National Housing Federation said these building owners needed more “clarity and information on materials” and urged the government to make the test results available as soon as possible.
The Royal Institute of British Architects added to the calls for swift action, saying “the longer the government waited, the longer UK residents lived in risk”.
Housing minister Kit Malthouse confirmed in April that testing of non-ACM materials would begin in in the coming weeks and would be completed in June. The government has also commissioned the Fire Protection Association to carry out a separate large-scale ‘BS 8414’ test on HPL.
This is the same kind of test the government commissioned for ACM immediately after Grenfell. It involves setting fire to a nine-metre-high model wall to judge how a material responds to flame.
Steve Reed, Labour MP for Croydon North, told Inside Housing that he has asked the government on three occasions whether it has completed the testing of HPL, but that he has not yet received an answer.
Mr Reed accused the government of delaying in order to avoid revealing the test results until the summer recess, adding that this tactic risks another tragedy like Grenfell.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Testing to understand the fire performance of non-ACM external wall systems began in April and we expect final results to be available by the summer.
“While it is imperative that people feel safe in their homes, it is right that we wait for all tests to be concluded in order to understand the full scale of the results.”
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
