Eleven months after promising to “keep our people safe”, the government has announced that they will “fully fund” replacement of cladding in social housing tower blocks. They estimate the cost at around £400 million. This is a huge achievement for those who have been pressing hard for this money, including Grenfell survivors, FPA and the many organisations and MPs supporting the demands of our SCIN campaign (Safe Cladding and Insulation Now!), and Local Authorities whose tower blocks are affected. But it’s nowhere near enough, and there are many unanswered questions, including, incredibly: will the new cladding also be flammable?
Below is the letter we sent to the Secretary of State when Theresa May announced the new money. We will be writing to him again as soon as he releases, as promised, the details of the planned funding. We will be inviting supporters to join us in signing this new letter, to be delivered later this year. Protection for tenants and leaseholders, from fire and from cold is essential and is a minimum that all are entitled to expect. And there must be no further delays! The time for re-cladding is now.