Combustible cladding consultation launched

Housing secretary James Brokenshire has launched a government consultation on banning the use of combustible materials on the external walls of high-rise residential buildings (HRRBs).

The move follows a pledge following a consultation in the wake of the publication of the Hackitt report in May, which stopped short of a ban on such cladding.

• Hackitt: Eight key recommendations

The consultation on banning the use of combustible materials on HRRBs of 18 metres or over was published yesterday (18 June).

The consultation invites views on proposals to revise the building regulations to ban the use of combustible materials in the inner leaf, insulation and cladding that are used in external wall systems on these buildings.

It will end on 14 August 2018.

Brokenshire said: “I have listened carefully to concerns and I intend to ban the use of combustible materials on the external walls of high-rise residential buildings, subject to consultation.

“The cladding believed to have been used on Grenfell Tower was unlawful under existing building regulations. It should not have been used. But I believe that the changes on which we are consulting will offer even greater certainty to concerned residents and to the construction industry.”

The government added that it was going further than Dame Judith Hackitt’s recommendations in her report by:

• banning or restricting the use of desktop studies from being used to assess the fire performance of cladding systems, unless a separate consultation demonstrates that they can be safely used;
• changing the law to achieve “meaningful and lasting reform of the regulatory system”, with strong sanctions for those who fail to comply;
• invite views on how the government could implement major reform of the regulatory system in line with Dame Judith’s review;
• clarify building regulations fire safety guidance (Approved Document B).