Caroline Pidgeon AM has written to the Minister for Building Safety and Communities, to express serious concerns about the Building Safety Fund, which is intended to remediate unsafe cladding on buildings around the country, but is lacking in its design, scope and funding.
Caroline writes:
It is clear that, when compared to the design and scope of both the Social and Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Funds, the Building Safety Fund is lacking. The inconsistency in Fund design and scope is not only deeply unfair, but it is also a huge concern to those in both social and private sector housing in London who are affected by this scandal.
I appreciate these matters are complex, but the Government has had three and a half years since the Grenfell Tower fire to deal with this and the slow, piecemeal progress being made to make people safe, without financially ruining them is simply unacceptable.
As an elected representative for all of London I feel I must speak out on this in the strongest possible way, given the devastating impact it is having on so many of my constituents’ lives. The Government should make clear that it supports the principle of leaseholders not paying for any of the works assosciated with such fire safety defects, and this Fund must be extended to cover these works and associated costs across the board.