The minister today announced he has secured pledges from a further 25 councils, who join regional city mayors in Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, London, Liverpool City Region and the West Midlands and 26 existing council signatories.
The new council signatories include 18 London councils, as well as leaders in Manchester, Slough, Leeds, Sheffield, Salford and Liverpool.
Consultant Faithful & Gould has been commissioned to advise those planning and doing ACM cladding remediation work, including identifying and increasing awareness of safe practice under current COVID-19 restrictions.
Building Safety Minister Lord Greenhalgh said: “We are bringing about the biggest change in building safety in a generation backed by our unprecedented £1bn fund for removing unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings, in addition to the £600m already made available.
“In order to ensure the safety of residents, building safety work must resume where it can be done safely and in line with public health guidance.
“The agreement reached with local leaders from across the country is an important step that demonstrates a shared commitment to ensuring this vital work continues during the pandemic.”
The government has provided sector specific guidance on how to apply social distancing in the workplace in England.
The National Fire Chiefs Council has also published revised guidance on waking watch interim measures, in the context of coronavirus, that reflects higher rates of occupancy and vulnerability due to people staying home for an extended period of time.
Councils signed up to pressing ahead with building safety work
Latest councils signing pledge
- Cllr Daniel Thomas (Leader, Barnet Council)
- Cllr Muhammed Butt (Leader, Brent Council)
- Cllr Colin Smith (Leader, Bromley Council)
- Cllr Georgia Gould (Leader, Camden Council)
- Cllr Tony Newman (Leader, Croydon Council)
- Cllr Julian Bell (Leader, Ealing Council)
- Cllr Danny Thorpe (Leader, Greenwich Council)
- Philip Glanville (Mayor of Hackney)
- Cllr Joseph Ejofor (Leader, Haringey Council)
- Cllr Damian White (Leader, Havering Council)
- Cllr Ray Puddifoot MBE (Leader, Hillingdon Council)
- Cllr Richard Watts (Leader, Islington Council)
- Cllr Elizabeth Campbell (Leader, Kensington and Chelsea Council)
- Cllr Jack Hopkins (Leader, Lambeth Council)
- Cllr Debra Coupar (Deputy Leader, Leeds City Council)
- Joe Anderson (Mayor, Liverpool City Council)
- Sir Richard Leese (Leader, Manchester City Council)
- Rokhsana Fiaz (Mayor of Newham)
- Paul Dennett (Mayor, Salford City Council)
- Cllr Julie Dore (Leader, Sheffield City Council)
- Cllr James Swindlehurst (Leader, Slough Council)
- John Biggs (Mayor, Tower Hamlets)
- Cllr Andrew Western (Leader, Trafford Council)
- Cllr Ravi Govindia (Leader, Wandsworth Council)
- Cllr Rachael Robathan (Leader, Westminster Council)
Signatories in April
- Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater Manchester)
- Kate Henderson (Chief Executive, National Housing Federation)
- Dan Jarvis (Mayor of the Sheffield City Region)
- Peter John (Chair of London Councils and Leader of Southwark Council)
- Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London)
- Steve Rotheram (Mayor of the Liverpool City Region)
- Andy Street (Mayor of the West Midlands)