Theresa May has committed the government to spending about £400m to pay for councils and housing associations to replace potentially dangerous cladding from high-rise tower blocks, a move welcomed by Labour and housing groups.

Speaking at prime minister’s questions just under a month before the anniversary of the Grenfell fire, May said it would be wrong if the cost of such cladding work meant housing providers had less money for maintenance.

Answering a question from the Conservative MP Bob Blackman about the government’s progress leading up to the anniversary of the fire on 14 June last year, in which 71 people died, May said fire services had now checked more than 1,250 high-rises.

“Councils and housing associations must remove dangerous cladding quickly, but paying for these works must not undermine their ability to do important maintenance and repair work,” May told MPs.

“I’ve worked closely with my right honourable friends, the chancellor and the housing secretary, and I can today confirm that the government will fully fund the removal and replacement of dangerous cladding by councils and housing associations, estimated at £400m. And the housing secretary will set out further details later this week.”



May’s spokeswoman said later that cladding replacement work was needed on 158 high-rise blocks – defined as being 18 metres or higher – in the social sector in England, and that it had begun on 104 of these.



There is no funding for privately owned blocks, but May’s spokeswoman said No 10 thought the cost should be met by the landlords: “This is money for social housing. We expect private building owners to take responsibility for removing and replacing and to not pass the cost on to leaseholders.”

Labour backed the decision but said it should have been made sooner. John Healey, the shadow housing secretary, said: “It’s welcome, but why on earth has it taken the prime minister 11 months to make this commitment? Almost a year on from the Grenfell Tower fire, over 300 other tower blocks have dangerous, Grenfell-type cladding, but only seven have had it replaced.”

The Local Government Association, which represents councils, said it had been in talks with ministers over the issue for some time. It said: “It is great that the government has honoured its commitment from last summer to meet the unexpected exceptional costs for councils arising from major remedial fire safety work on high-rise buildings.”



Polly Neate, the chief executive of the housing charity Shelter, said the money would be “a welcome relief for councils who have been making tough decisions on cutting back in other areas to carry out these essential works, and will go a long way to ensuring the people living in these tower blocks are finally safe”.

Councils have been urging the government since the fire to guarantee it will cover the costs of replacing potentially dangerous cladding, warning that the cost would prove excessive for many local authorities.

In another part of her answer to Blackman, May said that of the 210 Grenfell households in need of rehousing after the blaze, 201 had accepted an offer of temporary or permanent accommodation.

An inquiry is to examine the causes of the blaze, and the official response to it. Last week, the government announced that the inquiry panel would be widened to include people with the skills to examine the cultural and community reasons behind the fire, following pressure from survivors and the families of victims.



