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Labour says it is “inexcusable” that private tower block owners are not making their buildings safe a year on from the Grenfell Tower fire.

The party is calling for a £350m loan fund to replace dangerous cladding on over 100 privately owned tower blocks to “remove the alibi for private owners who have not made their blocks safe”.

The Shadow Housing minister warns that without strict penalties for owners that don’t comply -including seizing blocks with unsafe cladding- then families will continue to be forced to live in unsafe homes.

One year on from the fire which killed 72 people remediation work is finally starting to be done on many council and housing association owned blocks, there is little evidence of action on privately-owned buildings.

Many private owners claim this is due to the cost.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

But under Labour’s scheme private block owners who are unable to fund the replacement of dangerous cladding will be eligible to apply for a repayable loan to cover the costs.

Conservative Ministers still don’t know how many privately-owned tower blocks there are in England, the total number of private blocks with dangerous Grenfell-style cladding, though 138 have been found so far, and they refuse to publish data on the number of private blocks that have replaced this cladding.

The Tories have also failed to put in place powers to enforce the testing or making safe of suspect private blocks and are letting private building owners pass on the costs to residents.

(Image: PA)

John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary, told the Mirror: “A year on from the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower, our unwavering commitment remains to ensure Grenfell residents have the hope and new homes they need, those responsible are held fully to account, and all necessary steps are taken so that such a disaster can never happen again.

“It is inexcusable that private tower block owners are not making their buildings safe, and unacceptable that Government Ministers are not making them do so.

"Ministers must remove the alibi for private owners who haven’t made their blocks safe, with funding help for those who need it and tough sanctions, including seizing blocks, for those who will not make them safe."