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Labour urges ‘national response’ on cladding after Bolton fire
A Labour minister has branded the situation on dangerous cladding a “national crisis” following the Bolton fire and called for an urgent, wide-ranging response from the government.
Sarah Jones, Labour’s shadow housing minister, has outlined 12 areas of concern around fire safety in a letter to housing secretary Robert Jenrick after around 100 students had to flee the blazing six-storey Cube building last Friday night.
The building, according to planning documents, was clad in high-pressure laminate (HPL) panels.
Ms Jones accuses the government of “sitting on its hands” in its response to the situation over dangerous cladding.
Former housing minister Kit Malthouse previously admitted that the government had known since November last year that HPL failed a fire safety test.
In July, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said HPL cladding should be removed from high-rise blocks if combined with combustible insulation.
Claims had emerged in September 2017 that the government was planning to test non-aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding.
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Ms Jones said the Bolton fire shows that “urgent action” is needed to remediate buildings clad with HPL. She also calls on the government to commit to testing all samples of non-ACM cladding to the same British standards that ACM and HPL have been tested to.
Ms Jones also urges the “fast-tracking” of building cladding surveys on tall buildings so that work can start as soon as possible if samples fail a large-scale test.
The letter calls for a toughening of sanctions on building owners who fail to remove dangerous cladding. It comes after official figures revealed last week that 67 private blocks with ACM cladding are yet to have a remediation plan in place despite the looming threat of government enforcement action if plans are not finalised.
The letter also calls for sprinklers to be fitted in all social housing tower blocks – as Labour has vowed to introduce as part of a £1bn fire safety fund.
The letter concludes: “This is a national crisis which requires a national response. Your government cannot keep sitting on its hands when so many lives are in peril.”
The MHCLG has been contacted for comment.
