Photo by Christine Johnstone and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.
Photo by Christine Johnstone and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.

Shabana has written to the Minister of State at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government regarding ongoing concerns about cladding and COVID-19.

Over the last six months Shabana has campaigned alongside constituents on the cladding scandal. She has written to Government Ministers demanding they take action, asked questions of Ministers in Parliament, attended the Westminster Hall debate on the scandal, and represented Birmingham Ladywood alongside leaseholders at the cladding rally in Westminster.

Shabana welcomed the Government’s initial response in the Budget, with over £1bn announced by the Chancellor for the Building Safety Fund for remedial works to affected buildings.

However, issues surrounding the cladding scandal have only been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many having their finances hit twice, first by insurance premiums and building maintenance, and second by loss of income and earnings.

Shabana has written to the Minister asking for immediate intervention in light of the unprecedented national crisis relating to COVID-19.

You can read the letter below.


Letter to the Minister

Dear Minister,

I am writing regarding the ongoing scandal concerning the cladding on leasehold properties.

Over the last six months I have been campaigning alongside my constituents, who have been left with bills of tens of thousands of pounds to address combustible cladding on their leasehold properties. They have welcomed the Government’s initial response in the Budget, with over £1bn announced by the Chancellor for the Building Safety Fund for remedial works to affected buildings.

However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic urgent action needs to be taken to support leaseholders affected by the crisis. This week, in the midst of a nationwide shutdown, leaseholders at the Islington Gates in my constituency, received their first bill for increased service charges. In addition, their insurance cover sets a November deadline for work to begin on cladding removal, by which time the Building Safety Fund will not have issued funding.

It is unconscionable that in a moment of national crisis, leaseholders are at risk of having their insurance withdrawn, and subsequently finding their mortgages placed in default.

It is crucial that the Government shows leadership and acts now to provide an Insurance Guarantee for leaseholders affected by the cladding crisis, and promptly issues clear rules to management companies and the insurance industry aimed at protecting leaseholders from defaulting on their mortgages.

I look forward to receiving your response.

Shabana Mahmood MP

Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood

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