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<p>The Government has been clear that more must be done to accelerate the pace of
remediation of unsafe buildings across the country.</p><p>After the Grenfell Tower
tragedy, the Government prioritised identifying and providing funding for the highest
risk buildings with unsafe cladding. Fire and rescue services and local authorities
conducted a risk review of high-rise buildings over 18 metres in height, and building
owners were required to register high-rise buildings with the department and apply
for government funding to remove dangerous cladding.</p><p>The Building Safety Act
2022 establishes a new regulatory regime for high-rise buildings, which requires all
residential buildings above 18m to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator
by October 2023. The regulator has powers to pursue any building owner who fails to
comply, including prosecuting for non-compliance.</p><p>In 2022, the Cladding Safety
Scheme (CSS) was launched, to meet the cost of addressing life safety fire risks associated
with cladding in buildings over 11 metres. We estimate that there may be as many as
7,000 buildings that need remediation that have not yet applied for the scheme. Eligible
building owners must apply for this scheme, and leaseholders can utilise ‘Tell us
tool’ to self-refer their building. <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fguidance%2Ftell-us-about-life-safety-fire-risks-on-the-external-wall-system-of-your-building&data=05%7C02%7CPatrick.Kelly%40communities.gov.uk%7Cb5b3bf3b9b8f46e694aa08dcd34145f5%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C638617524508668633%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=iNm%2FolRZrWMlVAUqoBDrtxZwtyNlP1hyhf1D178f8N4%3D&reserved=0"
target="_blank">Tell us about life-safety fire risks on the external wall system of
your building - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a> The department is working at pace to identify
buildings eligible for funding that are not coming forward. We are utilising specialist
data sources and AI technology tools, and the CSS is contacting owners of identified
buildings to check whether they have been assessed for unsafe cladding.</p><p>The
Government has pressed the need for urgent action by local regulators to identify
and assess buildings for unsafe cladding and other defects. The Government is supporting
local authorities to boost their inspection and enforcement action by providing training,
guidance and over £14 million in new burdens funding to date. We are writing to all
metro mayors in England to ask for their support in driving forward local remediation
acceleration plans to ensure buildings are identified and remediated at pace. We will
set out further steps on plans to accelerate remediation this autumn.</p>
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