黑洞社区

New housing secretary James Brokenshire has announced a government consultation to consider banning combustible cladding in response to Dame Judith Hackitt鈥檚 final report on building safety.

The report, , was commissioned in the wake of last June鈥檚 Grenfell Tower tragedy which claimed 72 lives.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Brokenshire (pictured) said: 鈥淟et me be clear. The cladding on Grenfell Tower was unlawful under existing building regulations. It should not have been used. But I will ensure there is no room for doubt over what materials can be used safely in the cladding of high rise residential buildings.

鈥淗aving listened carefully to concerns the government will consult on banning the use of combustible materials and cladding systems on high rise residential buildings.鈥�

Despite not recommending a ban on combustible cladding in her final report, Hackitt said this morning said she would support Brokenshire if he decided a ban was the best way forward.

The 黑洞社区 Engineering Services Association has said banning cladding would not move the issue of building regulation application and enforcement forward, rather 鈥渋t was the way in which the refurbishment of the tower was managed and delivered, as a whole, that should face scrutiny鈥�.

Brokenshire also said he 鈥渨ould not hesitate鈥� to ban the use of desktop studies to assess cladding systems if the consultation on the controversial route to compliance, which is open until 25 May, 鈥渄oes not demonstrate they can be used safely鈥�. 鈥淚nappropriate use of desktop studies is unacceptable,鈥� said Brokenshire.

Private sector housing bodies have also been put on notice, with the housing secretary demanding they act to address unsafe cladding issues without passing the cost on to tenants.

He said: 鈥淚 find it outrageous that some private sector landlords have been slow to cooperate with us on this vital work. I am calling on them to do the right thing.

鈥淎nd if they don鈥檛 I am not ruling anything out at this stage.鈥�

He said the government backed Hackitt鈥檚 call for a regulatory culture in which the 鈥渙nus is more clearly on everyone involved to manage the risk they create at every stage and government doing more to set and enforce high standards鈥�

鈥淲e agree with the call for greater clarity and accountability over who is responsible for building safety during the construction, refurbishment and ongoing maintenance of high-rise homes,鈥� he said.

Brokenshire said there were too many examples of people who should be accountable for fire safety having failed in their duties.

He said: 鈥淚n future the government will ensure those responsible for a building must demonstrate they have taken decisive action to reduce building safety risk and be held to account.鈥�

鈥淲e agree the system should be overseen by a stronger regulatory framework including stronger powers to inspect high-rise buildings and sanctions to tackle irresponsible behaviour.

鈥淲e agree there should be no buck-passing between different parts of the industry, and that everyone needs to work together to change the system.鈥�