Progress on making buildings safe following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire has not been “fast enough”, Michael Gove has said.
In the House of Commons, the Communities Secretary spoke of his “determination to see the truth uncovered, to make change happen and to have all those responsible held to account”.
Labour, meanwhile, urged ministers to act quickly to remove unsafe aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding, which the party said still remains on 40 high-rise buildings.
The cladding panels, made of plastic sandwiched between two sheets of aluminium, were found by the public inquiry to have been the primary cause for the devastating spread of the fire.
Has progress been fast enough? No. Does resource need to be allocated? Yes— Michael Gove
Mr Gove told MPs he wanted to “apologise again for the role of the Government and others in failings that allowed the horrifying events of June 14 2017 to unfold”.
He added: “I share their determination to see the truth uncovered, to make change happen and to have all those responsible held to account so justice is delivered.
“The need for all of us in Government to learn from and to never repeat the scandalous mistakes of Grenfell couldn’t be more profound.”
He went on: “I remain wholly committed to supporting the independent Grenfell Tower Inquiry through which we may understand the truth about the circumstances leading to the tragedy and see justice delivered for the Grenfell community.”
Mr Gove added: “I would never say that we’ve done everything that we should. I do believe that significant progress has been made, not least in remediating high rise buildings.
“Has progress been fast enough? No. Does resource need to be allocated? Yes.”
Six years on from the horror of Grenfell, things have changed but they have not changed any near enough— Shadow communities minister Matthew Pennycook
Shadow communities minister Matthew Pennycook told the Commons: “Six years on from the horror of Grenfell, things have changed but they have not changed any near enough.
“If we are to ensure that everyone has a secure, decent, affordable and safe home in which to live, far more still needs to be done and done quickly.
“If it isn’t, we will be back here again next year, marking the seventh anniversary of the fire, still bemoaning the fact that there are too many social tenants being let down, too many buildings not made safe, and the lives of too many blameless leaseholders destroyed.”
He had earlier said: “Shamefully, Grenfell-style ACM cladding, which shouldn’t be on any building in this country or any other country, is still present on 40 high-rise buildings in England, six years on.
“And just 37 non-ACM buildings have been fully remediated out of the total of 1,225 that made applications to the building safety fund.”
