More than a quarter of a million flats are in buildings with potentially dangerous cladding – with an estimated 116,000 still waiting for work to start on making them safe.
The first figures released since the conclusion of the Grenfell inquiry show there are 4,771 residential buildings taller than 11 metres with unsafe cladding – an increase of 141 since July.
The rise is larger than in previous months as social housing providers and developers have alerted the Government to a swathe of blocks with possible issues.
Data shows that just 29 per cent of the 4,771 buildings with unsafe cladding have completed remediation work. Work is yet to start on 2,394 – or 50 per cent – of all buildings found to be unsafe.
Earlier this month, the inquiry into the fire at the tower block in west London found the blaze, which killed 72 people, was the result of ‘decades of failure’ by government and the construction industry.
More than a quarter of a million flats are in buildings with potentially dangerous cladding – with an estimated 116,000 still waiting for work to start on making them safe. Pictured: The Grenfell Tower fire in West London which killed 72 people
Housing minister Rushanara Ali (pictured) claimed there could be up to 7,000 buildings whose owners have yet to apply for the cladding safety scheme
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer issued a public apology on behalf of the state and said he was ‘frustrated’ by the speed of remediating buildings that have been identified as unsafe.
Another 141 buildings were identified in August as being eligible for one of several Government schemes aimed at removing flammable cladding or fixing other fire risks. By comparison, some 17 new buildings were identified the previous month and 38 in the month before that.
Several schemes aimed at rectifying safety issues have been set up following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.
These include the Building Safety Fund (BSF) aimed at blocks over 18 metres tall, initiatives to remove ACM (aluminium composite material) cladding similar to that on the west London tower, and the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) aimed at buildings over 11 metres tall.
It comes after housing minister Rushanara Ali claimed there could be up to 7,000 buildings whose owners have yet to apply for the cladding safety scheme, in addition to the 4,771 already identified.
Ms Ali told the Commons those responsible had ‘no excuse’ and risked facing enforcement action if they did not come forward to apply for the scheme.
Bereaved families and survivors of the fire have renewed calls for manslaughter prosecutions in the wake of the damning report’s publication.
The inquiry’s chairman concluded the west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the ‘systematic dishonesty’ of construction firms involved in its refurbishment.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: ‘The progress on remediation has been too slow – and this Government is taking action to ensure that dangerous buildings are urgently dealt with.’