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Tory ministers have not given a single council extra cash for ‘essential’ fire safety work since the Grenfell Tower blaze , they have admitted.

The government had promised to help town halls fund any crucial repairs they could not afford after 71 people died in the West London block.

But asked how much fire safety funding councils were given in the six months since then, Housing Minister Alok Sharma failed to identify a single penny.

Instead he admitted officials were still “working on” requests for essential work funds - from just two town halls.

His confession, in a written statement dated December 5, comes despite 36 councils asking the government to help with tower block safety work.

Mr Sharma said officials had contacted just nine of the councils asking for further information of what the essential works were.

(Image: Get Reading)

Two replied and “my officials are working with them on their requests”, he said. He added: “Local authorities should draw on existing resources.”

He did not specify any money that had been provided.

Labour MP Jo Stevens, who obtained the figures, said it proved the government’s promises amounted to a “big fat zero”.

She added: “The government’s rhetoric after Grenfell has been exposed. They have done absolutely nothing to assist councils to deal with a long-standing legacy and they need to do something about it quickly.

“They can’t just abdicate any responsibility and say to councils that are already grossly underfunded ‘you’ve got to deal with it.’

“They must put their money where their mouth is. They found £1billion for the DUP so there’s clearly money there down the back of the sofa.”

Eight days after the Grenfell fire Theresa May demanded tower block owners carry out safety tests, saying: “We cannot and will not ask people to live in unsafe homes.”

In the same debate she said: “We need to ensure that the resources are there in every sense for the remedial work that is necessary. We are looking at a variety of ways in which we can ensure that that is indeed the case."

Days later, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs: "We have been very clear that local authorities and housing associations must not hesitate at all.

"As soon as they learn about any action and necessary steps that they need to take to ensure public safety in terms of fire risk, they must take that action.

"If they are not able to pay for that themselves, we will of course work with them and put a financial support package in place with the individual organisation."

Yet in September Mr Sharma told Nottingham City Council a £6million bill for sprinklers was “additional rather than essential.”

(Image: PA)

Tonight the Local Government Association, which represents town halls, warned councils are already replacing flammable cladding on 45 tower blocks.

A spokesman said: “Central government needs to fully fund the unexpected, exceptional costs incurred by councils in conducting this vital safety work.”

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokeswoman said: "Public safety is paramount and following the Grenfell Tower tragedy we set up a comprehensive building safety programme to ensure a fire like this can never happen again.



"Building owners are responsible for ensuring properties are safe for residents and we expect them to pay for works, but councils should contact DCLG if they have any concerns about funding.



"We will consider financial flexibilities for authorities that need to undertake essential fire safety work to make a building safe."

It came as the Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, which managed Grenfell Tower, temporarily handed control of its thousands of properties back to the local council.

The board admitted it could “no longer guarantee to fulfil its obligations... to a standard that residents should expect.”

But residents’ association member Joe Delaney warned the move must not give the body a “cynical” way of avoiding scrutiny at the Grenfell public inquiry.