NEWS Potential combustible ban ‘does not go far enough’
THE HOUSING, Communities and Local Government Select Committee’s report on the Hackitt Review indicates that combustible materials should be banned from existing buildings as well as new. BBC News reported on the document, which states that the proposed ban on combustible material use on new high rises ‘does not go far enough’, and that any ban ‘should include existing buildings and those under construction’, because current proposals ‘only affect new buildings over 18m’ in height. The committee also said that
it was ‘disappointing’ that Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations and fire safety ‘had not recommended a ban’, and alongside demanding the ban be extended to buildings including ‘high risk properties such as hospitals’, the committee also said that the government ‘should pay for dangerous cladding to be removed’. In addition, it claimed that the ‘wider use of sprinklers would save lives’. Among other recommendations
it made were that the government ‘improve the building safety rules that govern the construction industry’, as their complexity was ‘compromising safety and putting people at risk in their own homes’, while the industry is ‘riven with conflicts of interest’. These include builders ‘choosing their own inspectors’, manufacturers ‘picking lenient product testers’, and fire and rescue authorities ‘inspecting the work of their own commercial trading arm’. Chairman Clive Betts added that
one year on from Grenfell Tower, the industry was ‘still no closer to having a system that inspires confidence that residents can be safe and secure in their homes’,and that there was a need for both ‘a fundamental change of culture’ plus measures that ‘should be introduced now. It just cannot be right that builders get to choose who marks their homework and urgent action is needed to make sure this does not continue’. In turn, Lord Porter, chairman of
the Local Government Association, 8
stated: ‘The evidence from real fires in real tower blocks shows that using combustible materials on the external walls of high-rise buildings kills people. We continue to strongly urge the government to ban the use of any combustible materials – including cladding panels, insulation and other materials – on the external walls of high-rise and high-risk buildings.’ The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) also backed the committee’s findings, stating that landlords are ‘welcoming’ the call for government to fund ‘certain fire safety improvements in privately owned residential blocks’, namely cladding. It argues that funding ‘should be made available to both public and private sector landlords’, adding that the committee agreed with its proposal for a low interest loan scheme for private owners. This would ensure that ‘remedial
work is carried out as quickly as possible where unsafe cladding is found and needs to be removed’. The RLA also pointed out that it had argued that the Hackitt Review represented a ‘missed opportunity to focus on fire safety improvements across all types of property’, and that the committee had urged the government to ‘take as wide an approach as possible to the applicability and implementation of the recommendations’. David Smith, policy director for
the RLA, commented: ‘We welcome today’s report. Its pragmatic
SEPTEMBER 2018
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approach to the financing of the removal and replacement of unsafe cladding would ensure vital improvements are made quickly whilst legal debates continue about who should be responsible for replacing cladding found to be unsafe. ‘We urge also the Government to
take seriously the Committee’s call to take a more holistic approach to fire safety. For all the focus on high rise buildings, we need to learn from the tragedy at Grenfell to ensure the right safety regime is in place whatever size or shape of housing people live in.’ Later in July, the Welsh government
launched a consultation on banning the use of combustible materials in external wall systems. The consultation, made up of seven questions, was open until 13 September, and aimed to gauge views on a ‘proposed ban on the use of combustible materials in the inner leaf, insulation and cladding that are used in external wall systems’. It noted that the Welsh Minister
for Housing and Regeneration submitted a ‘commitment in her written statement’ after the Hackitt Review was released, which read that ‘Dame Judith deliberately avoided any reference to specific matters, such as materials in cladding systems. She was right to point out that underlying failures of culture and of the regulatory system may allow unsafe practices and products to persist, and those failures will manifest themselves in other ways unless they are addressed head-on. ‘But I cannot ignore the risks and
the clear public concern. Subject to a legally-required consultation into this matter, we will move to ban the use of combustible materials in cladding systems on high rise residential buildings in Wales’. In addition, the Welsh government
stated: ‘We have reviewed the proposals contained in the recent Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) consultation in England [and] conclude that the fundamental questions asked and actions proposed are relevant to Wales.’
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