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Housing secretary and mayors pledge building safety work will continue during pandemic
The housing secretary has signed a joint pledge with mayors and local leaders to ensure building safety works continue during the coronavirus pandemic.
The mayors of London, Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, Liverpool City Region and the West Midlands have joined housing secretary Robert Jenrick in pledging that the remediation of high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding will continue as long as conditions are safe.
The pledge read: “We are clear that building safety work should continue where it is safe to do so, in accordance with public health guidance and procedures put in place by the construction industry to protect the workforce and minimise the risk of spreading infection.
“Workers safety and well-being must be taken seriously. They deserve our appreciation for continuing to support this essential work at this difficult time.
“Employers should ensure their workers on-site are able to follow this advice, and they should consider responsible arrangements for ensuring their workers can travel safely, such as through staggering site hours to reduce public transport use during peak periods.”
It comes amid reports that cladding remediation work has been halted as a result of the pandemic, including work on Samuel Garside House in Barking, which was devastated by a fire last year.
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Earlier this week, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) released its latest version of coronavirus guidance for the construction sector, which said sites could remain open as long face-to-face contact was kept to a maximum of 15 minutes.
In order to support building safety during the crisis, the government has appointed construction consultants Faithful & Gould to advise those carrying out aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding remediation work.
The pledge comes less than a month after the government announced a £1bn Building Safety Fund to support the removal of all forms of dangerous cladding from high-rise buildings.
Previously, the government had only agreed to fund the removal of ACM cladding, the type used on Grenfell Tower.
However, latest government figures, also released today, revealed that remediation work is still to begin on 179 buildings with ACM cladding almost three years after the Grenfell fire.
Mr Jenrick said: “The government is bringing about the biggest change in building safety in a generation. The new building safety regime will put residents’ safety at its heart and follows the announcement of the unprecedented £1bn fund for removing unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings in the Budget.
“However, I have been deeply concerned that vital building safety work has significantly slowed down as a result of the pandemic.
“I have been clear that work must resume to ensure the safety of residents living in buildings with unsafe cladding or with insufficient fire safety measures, and it is entirely possible for this work to be done safely within health guidelines.
“I brought together mayors and local leaders to find a solution. The agreement that I have reached with them will ensure those working on these vital repair projects can continue to do so safely.”
Mike Amesbury MP, Labour’s shadow housing and planning minister, said: “Replacing potentially dangerous cladding is vitally important to protect the people living in those buildings, so this is a welcome move but the proof will be in the progress of this work which has been painfully slow so far.
"It is equally important that this is carried out safely and the construction workers must have the protective equipment they need and are able to socially distance while they undertake this vital task."
