Government must publish a target date for cladding remediation – NAO

The government’s progress in remediating dangerous cladding to make buildings safe is too slow, the National Audit Office (NAO) warns.

It says that despite significant changes to remediation programmes, up to 60% of buildings with dangerous cladding have yet to be identified.

The NAO’s report highlights the lack of a clear target date for completing cladding remediation, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents in uncertainty.

While the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) estimates an end date of 2035, the lack of published milestones hinders progress.

‘Buildings needing remediation’

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “Seven years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, there has been progress, but considerable uncertainty remains regarding the number of buildings needing remediation, costs, timelines and recouping public spending.

“There is a long way to go before all affected buildings are made safe, and risks MHCLG must address if its approach is to succeed.”

He added: “Putting the onus on developers to pay and introducing a more proportionate approach to remediation should help to protect taxpayers’ money.

“Yet it has also created grounds for dispute, causing delays.

“To stick to its £5.1 billion cap in the long run, MHCLG needs to ensure that it can recoup funds through successful implementation of the proposed Building Safety Levy.”

Emotional and financial distress

Despite protections for most leaseholders against remediation costs, residents continue to face significant emotional and financial distress, the NAO says.

With thousands of buildings still unidentified and remediation progress slower than anticipated, uncertainty remains.

The government has made some effort in addressing the issue, the scale of the problem and the potential cost overruns pose significant challenges.

The NAO report highlights that the slow pace of identification and remediation is causing unnecessary suffering for residents.

Work has been ‘unacceptably slow’

The building safety minister, Alex Norris, said: “The pace of remediation to make homes safe has been unacceptably slow.

“This government is taking action – meeting our commitment to invest £5.1 billion to remove dangerous cladding and making sure those responsible pay for the rest.

“This government will protect leaseholders and empower regulators to take enforcement action against those building owners who fail to act.”

He added: “Since coming into office, we have ramped up work with local authorities and regulators to speed up remediation and we will set out a Remediation Acceleration Plan soon.”

Property118 has previously featured the work of the Cladding Scandal Campaign on this issue.

Share This Article