Promoting safety after Grenfell

New government newsletter published

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has issued its latest newsletter on the Building Safety Programme which was set up following the Grenfell Tower disaster last year. Content includes the following: 

• To support local authorities with their  work in identifying private sector residential buildings over 18 metres with potentially unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems, the government will be providing further financial support totalling £1 million to assist the most affected local authorities in identifying these buildings. 
• In addition, the government is also taking steps to support local authorities in taking further action where cladding constitutes a hazard.  Work is being progressed on issuing a statutory direction as to local authorities’ reviews of housing conditions in their area, in respect of cladding-related issues, and additional statutory operating guidance will be published to support local authorities in conducting hazard inspections and issuing enforcement notices. The department will continue to work with local authorities in developing these.
• On 27 February the government published the latest data release  setting out progress made in identifying buildings with potentially unsafe cladding systems. The next release is due in the week commencing 26 March.
• On 6 March, the department ran a one day conference for local authorities on ensuring the safety of residents in high-rise buildings.  Attendees at the event heard from the National Fire Chiefs Council and a range of LAs on their work to identify potentially unsafe buildings and gather information.
• Following recent commercial large scale tests on two design variations of a cladding system comprising Category 2 ACM and Phenolic foam insulation, there has been an update to the consolidated advice for building owners following large scale testing on what the results of the tests may mean. Details of these commercial tests are available on the BRE website.

For more information on the Building Safety Programme and to subscribe to the email newsletter, please click here.