The government could miss the target date for removing the cladding

The National Audit Office (NAO) said up to 60% of buildings with hazardous cladding have still not been identified by the government

Getty Images Image of two workmen wearing white hard hats and safety vests removing external cladding from Burnham Tower on the Chalcots Estate in Camden in 2017 — The National Audit Office (NAO) said up to 60% of buildings with hazardous cladding have still not been identified by the government

The government could miss the completion date for the cladding removal if no progress is made to speed up the process, the UK’s spending watchdog said.

In a new reportThe National Audit Office (NAO) said that up to 60% of buildings with hazardous cladding have still not been identified by the government, and that at the current rate of progress the work would miss its own estimated 2035 completion date.

The report follows the conclusion of the Grenfell inquiry in Septemberwhich found risks had been ignored and there had been “systematic dishonesty” by those who made and sold the cladding involved in the 2017 west London fire that killed 72 people.

The government has been contacted for a response.

Grenfell Tower’s cladding was made of highly flammable polyethylene, which was added to the sides of the 1970s building in 2016

PA Media File photo from 2021 showing a covered Grenfell Tower with gray billboards at the top with green hearts and the message 'Grenfell - forever in our hearts' — Grenfell Tower’s cladding was made of highly flammable polyethylene, which was added to the sides of the 1970s building in 2016

The report assessed how quickly the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) completed work to replace dangerous cladding on tower blocks in England, and aimed to provide an update on an earlier NAO report from 2020.

It found that there has been “a substantial increase in remediation activity” since then, with 4,771 buildings taller than 11 meters falling under the government’s remediation program as of August.

However, an estimated 7,200 other buildings in England with such cladding were still unidentified and some “may never be”, the NAO continued.

Progress was also slow when replacing the cladding, it turned out.

Although the MHCLG has spent £2.3 billion carrying out work on identified buildings, the report states that work has only been completed on around a third of them and has yet to start on half.

The government’s proposed completion date for completing cladding work on these buildings was 2035, but it was not on track to meet this deadline and “there are significant challenges to overcome”, the report said.

‘Financial and emotional stress’

The NAO advised that if progress in identifying buildings with hazardous cladding did not improve by the end of 2024, the government should consider other measures.

These include mandatory registration for mid-rise buildings – and as with high-rise buildings below Construction Safety Act 2022stricter enforcement activities and measures to help resolve disputes between residents and building owners.

“Many people still do not know when their buildings will be made safe, contributing to residents experiencing significant financial and emotional hardship,” the report said.

The watchdog also highlighted that there are issues with limiting taxpayers’ contributions to the works to £5.1 billion.

The MHCLG estimate for the cost of all works was £16.6 billion and the NAO said that while the government planned to recoup around £3.4 billion from a new Construction safety levyIt was expected that this would not be introduced until the autumn of 2025 at the earliest.

In London, More than £1 billion has been spent removing dangerous cladding from tower blocks in the past six years.

The Greater London Authority, which manages the schemes on behalf of the government, said 58% are now fully remediated or work is underway.

Some buildings that have had their cladding removed, such as this one in London, are still waiting to be replaced years later

Getty Images Image of an apartment building that had its cladding removed in 2018 but was awaiting replacement in July 2024. Brown planks and the internal struts and clips for the cladding are visible next to the building's black windows — Some buildings that have had their cladding removed, such as this one in London, are still waiting to be replaced years later

The report’s findings come after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the Budget that the government would invest more than £1 billion in repairs to buildings with hazardous cladding in 2025-26, including new investment to accelerate the remediation of social housing.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “There is still a long way to go before all affected buildings are made safe, and the risks MHCLG must address if its approach is to succeed.

“To stay within the £5.1 billion cap in the long term, MHCLG must ensure it can recoup money through successful implementation of the proposed Building Safety Levy.”

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee, who previously met survivors of the Grenfell fire, said that “the program is behind schedule and MHCLG must pick up the pace to get it back on track.” and added: “the government must take steps to better protect taxpayers”.

“It urgently needs to ensure its fraud controls work and that developers contribute their fair share of costs.”