A total of 470 high-rise blocks have unsafe ACM cladding that needs to be replaced, according to new government figures.
The figure is 51% higher than the estimated 311 buildings in need of remediation when the government last produced an update in May.
The news comes after the government significantly upped its assessment of the number of private-sector residential buildings unlikely to meet current Building Regulations, up from 138 on 22 May to 297 this month, following inspections of more than 6,000 buildings.
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In the case of more than three quarters of those private buildings (76%), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not been informed of plans to remediate them.
Meanwhile, remediation has started on 60% of the 159 social sector residential buildings identified as having unsafe cladding, with work completed in 9% of cases.
Work has been completed on 7% of the 14 publicly owned buildings identified, but work hasn’t started on the other 93%, as options are being considered.
In response to the figures, communities secretary James Brokenshire yesterday announced a package of measures to drive forward swifter action by building owners.
The government said ministers were “clear” that building owners are responsible for making buildings safe, and local authorities have started taking enforcement action in all but a handful of cases to make them take action.
A new taskforce will oversee a national programme of remediation in the private sector and ensure plans are in place for every building affected.
And a new inspection, backed by £1m of government funding and consisting of experts from environmental health, building control and fire inspection, will provide support to individual councils to boost their inspection capacity.
There will be a follow-up round table next month so representatives can present their proposals on solutions to remove unsafe cladding from the buildings without passing the cost on to leaseholders.
In the meantime, the government said it would continue to explore other routes for protecting leaseholders, such as supporting local authorities to take action to identify and remediate affected buildings and recover the costs from those responsible for the buildings’ safety.
Local fire and rescue services have been informed about all of the buildings to ensure that interim measures are in place.
Brokenshire said: “The safety of residents is my main priority and fire and rescue services are working with building owners to ensure residents are safe now. But I want to see swifter progress in removing unsafe cladding which is why I have announced further action to support councils as they work with owners of high-rise blocks.
“I have been clear that leaseholders should be protected from unfair costs and we expect the industry to do the right thing. If they don’t, I will continue to explore other routes and I am not ruling anything out.”
