Published on 18th July, MHCLG has released the latest data on remediation progress, with information up to June 2024. The headline figures are below:
Access the full data release here. The next data release is expected on 22nd August 2024
Seven years have passed since the tragic night when Grenfell Tower was engulfed in flames, leaving an indelible scar on our collective conscience. Today, as we remember the 72 lives lost, The Property Institute (TPI) stands in solidarity with the survivors and the Grenfell community, who continue to seek justice, and we urge the next Government to get on with remediating unsafe buildings.
The Grenfell Tower fire was a preventable disaster – the consequence of a series of systemic failures and regulatory oversights. Combustible cladding, inadequate fire doors, and a dangerously flawed stay-put policy turned the tower into a death trap. The aftermath revealed the urgent need for comprehensive safety measures. Seven years on, we have a new regulatory regime, but there remain many challenges ahead to ensuring buildings – and more importantly, residents - are safe.
An upadte from DLUHC re: Cladding Remediation
"As you may already be aware, from March a group of 21 buildings from the Building Safety Fund (BSF) transferred over to the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS). This transition has revealed some initial positive results and a further group of buildings will now transfer over from BSF to CSS in the coming weeks.
This move is being made because the Cladding Safety Scheme has introduced new systems to deliver remediation funding efficiently. It makes use of digital technology, known as the Building Remediation Hub, to progress buildings through all the stages of funding.
Relevant stakeholders of buildings impacted by this move have been notified by our delivery partners."
Building control professionals have been given an extra 13 weeks to prove their competence, calming fears of an imminent collapse in councils’ ability to provide the service.
Under rules introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, building control inspectors had been expected to register with the Building Safety Regulator and pass through an accreditation process by 6 April.
But recent months have seen accreditation bodies warn that too few inspectors would receive their qualifications in time for the deadline, raising concerns that some councils would be rendered unable to carry out building control.
On 13th March, The devolved government in Wales has already announced a six-month extension of the deadline for accreditation (extended to 1 October 2024) and today (14 March 2024), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed there will also be an extension, albeit a significantly shorter one, in England.
A letter from the HSE’s director of building safety, Philip White, confirmed to the industry that there would be a competence assessment extension period of 13 weeks, shifting the deadline from 6 April to 6 July 2024.
Inspectors will still be required to register with the regulator to continue working, but those who do will have longer to demonstrate their competence.