Urgent action needed to stop more deaths in Grenfell-style cladding fires, MPs warn
MORE Brits will die from Grenfell-style cladding fires because of Whitehall foot-dragging and money grabbing landlords, MPs have warned.
Combustible materials must be more urgently outlawed in all existing tower blocks and other high-risk buildings, according a damning report from the Commons Housing committee.
That includes stripping cladding from retirement homes, hospitals, student accommodation and hotels.
And the MPs warned that the ban on flammable cladding for new high-rise buildings being considered by the Government in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy does not go far enough.
Ministers were also told to introduce immediate reforms to complex building safety rules “before more lives are lost”.
The industry is “riven with conflicts of interest” such as builders choosing their own inspectors, manufacturers picking lenient product testers and Fire Rescue Authorities inspecting the work of their own commercial trading arms, the MPs said.
Sprinklers should be retro-fitted to existing high-rise residential buildings where possible, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee also recommended.
Chairman Clive Betts said: “We are now more than a year on from the catastrophic events at Grenfell Tower, yet despite an independent review of building regulations, we are still no closer to having a system that inspires confidence that residents can be safe and secure in their homes.
“We agree with the independent review that there is a need for a fundamental change of culture in the construction industry, but there are also measures that can and should be introduced now.
“We welcome the intention of the Government to ban combustible cladding, but the proposals do not go far enough.
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“A ban on dangerous cladding must be extended beyond new high-rise constructions, to existing residential buildings as well as other high-risk buildings.”
Some 72 people died as a result of the blaze at Grenfell Tower on June 14 last year.
Ministers announced a consultation on banning flammable cladding for high-rise buildings hours after a review of building regulations by Dame Judith Hackitt in May was branded a whitewash when it failed to make such a recommendation.
Lord Porter, Local Government Association Chairman, said: “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.”
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