NFCC responds to today’s Government announcement on cladding

Earlier today Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick unveilled a a five-point plan – which included confirmation that the government will fully fund the cost of replacing unsafe cladding for all leaseholders in residential buildings 18 metres (6 storeys) and over in England.

NFCC Chair, Roy Wilsher responds:  “We welcome the additional funding announced today, which we hope will help to speed up the removal of dangerous cladding off high rise buildings. This is a step in the right direction.

“Whilst we will need to work through the detail of today’s announcement, it is vitally important that the new funding is distributed quickly so that as a matter of priority people can be made safe in their homes. We acknowledge that this will not address all the safety issues in the built environment and we will continue to work with government and partners to address these to ensure all residents can feel safe in their homes and are protected from the financial impact of these building failures.

“The Government has also set out the support package for other buildings and we will be working with fire and rescue services in the coming weeks to assess what the impact on the sector and leaseholders will be.

“We are pleased to see that action is to be taken to introduce a new tax and levy on developers to help finance this work going forward. It is right that those that built these buildings in the first place pay for the problems to be fixed.

“Only by ensuring that new builds are designed and constructed safely from the outset can Government, regulators, and the wider industry ensure that unsafe buildings are no longer built. This action must start as soon as possible and we look forward to the introduction of the Building Safety Bill so that the proposed new ‘Gateways’ regime of building controls can be introduced.”