Government misses deadline to remove all Grenfell-Style cladding

The government has failed their target to remove dangerous cladding from all tower blocks by this month, as thousands of citizens are at risk due to the material that caused the Grenfell fire.

Image credit, Evening Standard

Official figures show that 300 high-rise residential and publicly-owned buildings still have the same aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding that covered Grenfell. However, the government last year announced that all flammable cladding would be removed by June 2020.

It is believed around 1,700 more buildings have some other form of dangerous cladding, such as timber or high pressure laminate.

Despite the government pledge of £1.6bn to carry out work on all affected buildings, misery still exists for people living in tens of thousands of homes affected by the scandal.

Image credit, bdonline

In July 2019, former housing secretary James Brokenshire set a deadline of June 2020, for all tower blocks covered in Grenfell-style cladding to be removed and replaced. He warned building owners to "expect enforcement action" if action wasn’t taken.

A Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "Residents’ safety remains our priority. We are bringing forward the biggest change in building safety in a generation backed by our unprecedented £1.6bn fund to ensure unsafe cladding is removed swiftly from high-rise buildings.

"We are clear that in order to ensure the safety of residents during the coronavirus pandemic, work to remove these unsafe materials must continue where it can be done safely."