Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood, is continuing her long-running campaign to make homes safe from dangerous cladding. She is demanding the Government urgently delivers on its promise to remove dangerous Grenfell-style cladding. 

The Government failed to address the cladding scandal in the Queen’s Speech when it proposed a new Building Safety Bill. Much of the Bill simply reinstated previous Labour Government regulations that were removed by this government.

In June 2017, a fire broke out in Grenfell Tower in West London, which claimed the lives of 72 people. Subsequent enquiries revealed that it was combustible exterior cladding that allowed the flames to spread, and that residents had previously raised concerns about the safety of their homes to no avail.

The Government has said that it is making funding available to remove dangerous cladding, but when you look into the details you see many leaseholders being left high and dry without any financial support. This is putting thousands of leaseholders at risk of financial ruin, whilst keeping them in unsafe homes.  The current funding is yet to be allocated to residents, and considerably more funding will be required to remove all dangerous cladding.

Fires have broken out in residential blocks in Birmingham Ladywood with the Fire Brigade saying that they were minutes from disaster – such as Brindley House, in Newhall Street.

The Queen’s Speech was an opportunity for the Government to put an end to unsafe homes, but the Conservatives opted to kick the can further down the road. The cladding scandal highlights how our current Government fails to prioritise its most vulnerable citizens.

Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood, said:

“Despite the misery faced by leaseholders living in the Islington Gates development and the dangers of Brindley House, residents are still waiting for dangerous cladding to be removed and are stuck in unsafe homes. The Government must be held to account for its failure to address this crisis.

“If the Government had delivered on its promise to remove dangerous Grenfell-style cladding by June 2020, people in Birmingham would be able sleep safe at night and not have to face extortionate insurance premiums. It is simply not acceptable to neglect residents living in unsafe homes.”

“The Government needs to prioritise the cladding crisis and protect leaseholders from bearing the cost of a problem that they did not cause. The Queen’s Speech is yet another missed opportunity for action by the Tories which could have life threatening consequences.”