Fire safety
Cladding issue could be 'tip of iceberg'
Barnet LBC has warned fire safety issues with nearly 600 low-rise homes could be ‘just the tip of the iceberg across the country’.
Newham wins landmark cladding removal case
Newham LBC has become the first council in Britain to successfully prosecute a building owner for failing to remove flammable cladding.
Secretary of state takes ‘personal interest’ in council landlords
Seven councils are among the landlords to have received letters from housing secretary Michael Gove after falling foul of watchdogs.
Ringing the changes
Diary eyed with curiosity a Government announcement of an £18.6m fund to replace in-person waking watches with automated fire alarm systems in at risk buildings.
Time for curiosity on compliance
The Building Safety Act was introduced partly in response to the Grenfell tragedy, and liability could apply to officers and members, says Scott Dorling. If councils are unclear about their path to compliance they need to act now to find out.
Districts rapped by social housing watchdog
Two district councils have been found to have breached health and safety rules by the social housing watchdog.
Home Office rejects Grenfell Inquiry safety recommendation
The Government has rejected a recommendation that would require owners of high-rise buildings to prepare emergency evacuation plans for disabled residents.
Grenfell council admits leadership was 'unable to cope'
Kensington & Chelsea LBC has admitted to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry its ‘leadership was unable to cope’ in the days after the tragedy.
Gove reveals new cladding plan
Michael Gove has vowed to use the law or increase taxes on developers if they refuse to pay for the removal of unsafe cladding.
Budget 2021: £24bn multi-year housing settlement
The chancellor has today announced £11.5bn to build up to 180,000 new affordable homes, calling it the largest cash injection in more than a decade.
Councils to have ‘bigger role’ in building safety
The Government has said it wants to give councils a ‘bigger role’ in making sure high-rise buildings are safe.
Welwyn Hatfield in housing safety breach
A watchdog has found thousands of homes went uninspected for fire safety by Welwyn Hatfield BC.
Showing true colours
You could have been forgiven for assuming the fire service was in for a radical new look.
Queen’s Speech: New law to ‘modernise’ planning system
The Government has pledged to push ahead with reforms to the planning system in order to meet housebuilding targets.
LGA removes criticised fire safety guidance from website
The Local Government Association (LGA) finally removed fire safety guidance hosted on its website that had been heavily criticised after the Grenfell Tower blaze.
Grenfell council apologises over monitoring failings
Kensington & Chelsea LBC has apologised for failings in its monitoring of the organisation that managed Grenfell Tower.
An inflammatory situation
While fixing the cladding scandal may be a bitter pill for ministers to swallow, by not addressing it now, in full, we only create a false economy, says Sir Bob Neill.
Unearthing the success of heat pumps for high rise blocks
The safety and efficiency of tower blocks has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. Tim Woods explains what ENGIE UK is doing to support its clients to deliver safer homes
This hidden housing scandal has a specific human face
Pretty soon the shadow of the COVID crisis will lift - and hopefully the Grenfell inquiry will report one day - says Paul Wheeler. At some point soon we need to address the appalling record of the major builders in this country, he adds.
Committee condemns ‘pie-in-the-sky’ cladding promises
Thousands of people are at risk because of ‘serious shortcomings’ in the Government’s long-term response to the Grenfell Tower fire, MPs have said.