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| Councils too slow in getting tower blocks fire-tested, minister suggests | Councils too slow in getting tower blocks fire-tested, minister suggests |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The government appears to be blaming councils and housing associations for the slow pace of fire safety tests on high-rise buildings after only a tenth of the 600 tower blocks potentially at risk have been tested in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower blaze. | The government appears to be blaming councils and housing associations for the slow pace of fire safety tests on high-rise buildings after only a tenth of the 600 tower blocks potentially at risk have been tested in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower blaze. |
| Theresa May outlined an emergency inspection programme last week that could test 100 samples a day. However, test results have been revealed for only 60 high-rise buildings in 25 areas, and all of them failed combustibility checks. | |
| On Monday, housing minister Alok Sharma said “round the clock” testing was under way, but he appeared to blame landlords for failing to submit samples. | On Monday, housing minister Alok Sharma said “round the clock” testing was under way, but he appeared to blame landlords for failing to submit samples. |
| “We would say to all landlords out there, please urgently send those samples in,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. | “We would say to all landlords out there, please urgently send those samples in,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. |
| Asked if some landlords had been slow to submit samples, Sharma replied: “Some councils are acting very quickly and we want all of them to be acting urgently on this.” | Asked if some landlords had been slow to submit samples, Sharma replied: “Some councils are acting very quickly and we want all of them to be acting urgently on this.” |
| He added: “The advice that we have given to local authorities and to housing associations, is people shouldn’t wait for the checks to come back from these cladding results, they should act now, get the fire service in, check the buildings that they think may be affected and put in place mitigation measures if required, or as in the case of Camden, if they need to evacuate, that needs to happen.” | He added: “The advice that we have given to local authorities and to housing associations, is people shouldn’t wait for the checks to come back from these cladding results, they should act now, get the fire service in, check the buildings that they think may be affected and put in place mitigation measures if required, or as in the case of Camden, if they need to evacuate, that needs to happen.” |
| Camden is evacuating 600 flats on its five-block Chalcots estate after it was deemed unsafe over concerns about combustible cladding and a range of other fire safety problems. | |
| Sharma insisted that 100 samples could be tested each day: “These tests take several hours to do. We are being very open and very clear; as soon as we have the numbers we do release them. It is indeed 100 a day but of course it is a question of also making sure that we get these samples in as quickly as possible.” | |
| Asked why the government had failed to act on concerns about the building regulations, the minister said: “I’m not here to make any excuses. What has happened is absolutely terrible and we need to learn the lessons from that. And if that means we need to make changes to regulations then of course we will do that. But this has to be led by the experts.” | Asked why the government had failed to act on concerns about the building regulations, the minister said: “I’m not here to make any excuses. What has happened is absolutely terrible and we need to learn the lessons from that. And if that means we need to make changes to regulations then of course we will do that. But this has to be led by the experts.” |
| Speaking at Glastonbury on Sunday, the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire “were murdered by political decisions that were taken over recent decades”. | Speaking at Glastonbury on Sunday, the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire “were murdered by political decisions that were taken over recent decades”. |
| Responding to the comments in an earlier interview with BBC News, Sharma said: “It is very disappointing that people should want to turn this into a party political issue. What I am sensing is that what the nation demands is that we work together and make sure we keep people safe.” | Responding to the comments in an earlier interview with BBC News, Sharma said: “It is very disappointing that people should want to turn this into a party political issue. What I am sensing is that what the nation demands is that we work together and make sure we keep people safe.” |
| Shadow housing minister John Healey also questioned McDonnell’s use of language. “He was giving voice to the very real anger and disbelief that many people have. I wouldn’t use the word murder. It is not yet possible to point to direct cause and effect, we don’t yet know the full details from Grenfell Tower,” Healey told Today. | Shadow housing minister John Healey also questioned McDonnell’s use of language. “He was giving voice to the very real anger and disbelief that many people have. I wouldn’t use the word murder. It is not yet possible to point to direct cause and effect, we don’t yet know the full details from Grenfell Tower,” Healey told Today. |
| He added: “What worries me now about these checks is that 60 have failed out of 60. That surprises me, that suggests they are just testing one product. And there have really got to be much wider safety checks and tests for the future.” | He added: “What worries me now about these checks is that 60 have failed out of 60. That surprises me, that suggests they are just testing one product. And there have really got to be much wider safety checks and tests for the future.” |