Leaseholders in the city are desperate for a resolution to their nightmare around the cladding problem following the dreadful loss of life in the Grenfell fire disaster. And this week has seen some more movement both locally and nationally.
The national news was obvious to everyone, less so I suspect the local news. In Liverpool the City Council agreed to a funding package for residents stuck in impossible situations of having to pay out exorbitant amounts for fire watch and insurance. As the article in Liverpool Express explains the Government has given money to the council to be used to purchase fire alarms so that the cost of the so-called waking watch system is no longer required. There are some restrictions on who can claim these funds but they are set down clearly in this article: High rise fire alarm safety fund launched 01.02.21
In the national news in parliament a motion was put to the House by Labour in support of the people affected by the cladding issue and not one Conservative voted for it. However the next day there was an announcement in the media that they are minded to put some funds towards trying to resolve the predicament for leaseholders in private apartment blocks. A number of Tories had spoken in favour of acting on the issue but when it came to a vote they all abstained. You can follow the debate below:
- Open Democracy: UK Government accused of covering up ‘national scandal’ 28.01.21
- The Guardian: Labour calls for action over ‘extraordinary’ cladding scandal 01.02.21
- The Guardian: ‘In the dark’ millions left in flats they can’t sell or fix 02.02.21
- The Independent: Tory MPs abstain in flammable cladding vote 02.02.21
LATEST NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT:
- The Guardian: UK ministers to announce billions in extra support for cladding removal 09.02.21
- BBC News: Cladding Extra £3.5bn promised to tackle unsafe buildings 10.02.21
Engage Resident has recommended these articles by Prof Susan Bright from the University of Oxford, Faculty of Law:
- Part 1: Building owners and the cladding problem – some basic land law 20.02.19
- Part 2: Building owners, local authorities and remediation – some tentative thoughts 20.02.19
- Part 3: To enforce or not? Local authorities and cladding removal 13.03 19
BBC News 31.01.21 National Leasehold Campaign
Previous article by Engage on this issue HERE
Image courtesy of Danny Lawson/PA The Guardian and Financial Times.