£248 million has been released to social sector landlords to fund the removal and replacement of unsafe aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding from high-rise (defined as 18 metres or higher) social sector homes.
The money is the first tranche of funding released from the estimated £400 million announced by the Prime Minister earlier this year and means councils and housing associations can make their properties safe without having an impact on their other vital services.
Applications were received for 159 buildings, and 135 – from 12 councils and 31 housing associations – have been approved. We have requested more information for 12 of the applications and will review these and any others received in December. Twelve applications were not eligible for funding because they didn’t meet the application criteria.
There is nothing more important than ensuring people are safe in their homes and so applications received after the 31 August deadline will still be reviewed.
As this work is ongoing and costs are estimated (and subject to change), 80% of the estimated costs will be provided upfront to ensure work can start with no delay. The work will be closely monitored by the government and the remaining 20% will paid once work is complete and the final costs are known.
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the government established a comprehensive building safety programme that included an independent review of fire safety and building regulations.
The government response to this review confirmed, following consultation, a ban on the use of combustible materials on all residential high-rise buildings above 18 metres so that people are safe in their homes now, and in the future. Full details of the ban and how the recommendations of the Hackitt review will be implemented will be published later this year.
The latest figures show over 75% of social housing buildings with unsafe ACM cladding are currently removing and replacing it, with plans in place for the remaining 25%. Interim fire safety measures are in place in all affected buildings to keep residents safe until the cladding has been replaced. The latest figures are published on GOV.UK monthly.
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