Barry has written to the Housing secretary, Robert Jenrick as the 3rd anniversary of the Grenfell Tower approaches.
Across the UK, 20,000 – 23,700 households across the country are still living in unsafe buildings. According to government building safety data for March this year, 6500 of these are in the social sector and between 13,500 and 17,200 households in private sector residential blocks.
In Barry’s letter, he asked the Secretary of State to answer these questions:
When the Government will commence work onsite with all the buildings identified as at risk?
How much additional funding will be provided to enable these essential works to proceed?
By what date does the Government expect all unsafe buildings to be fully remediated now the June 2020 deadline has passed?
What further steps the Government plans to accelerate the pace of the remediation?
What discussions have taken place with building owners, insurance companies and warranty providers.
On the 28th April you gave a commitment to Parliament that help would be available to leaseholders faced with waking watch costs and fire remediation work; please update me on the progress of this assistance package?
In Barry’s letter he also refers to the Government advice for Leaseholders/Advice Note 14.
The government needs urgently to speak with surveyors and mortgage lenders to overcome the issues Advice Note 14 has created and which is holding up the sale of thousands of homes.
Barry sought assurances that the Secretary will not promise further timelines for making homes safe until he has secured the necessary funding from the Treasury to ensure such promises can be met.
For the families in my Constituency, and across the Country, three years after the Grenfell tragedy when 72 people lost their lives, this is now of the utmost priority.
