Agenda item

Notice of Motion Regarding "Demanding An End To The National Cladding Scandal"

That this Council:-

 

(a)      notes it is now over three and half years since the tragic Grenfell Tower fire and yet the Government have failed to get to grips with the scandal of dangerous cladding;

 

(b)      notes that lack of proper action from government over covering the costs has affected Sheffield residents with many having bought their property in good faith, only to face both the immediate cost of having to fund ‘waking watches’, as well as not knowing whether they will one day be confronted by a financially crippling bill from their building owner for remedial works;

 

(c)      believes it would be distressing to see anyone held to ransom in this way at any time, but it is even more concerning given the current economic uncertainty and pandemic, and that whilst all of this hangs over them, owners in these tower blocks have little chance of selling their flats, and it is not hard to imagine the impact this must be having on the mental wellbeing of the individuals affected;

 

(d)      believes it is time for firm action from the Government rather than continued broken promises, to avoid a repeat of the Grenfell Tower tragedy;

 

(e)      believes that government are not providing the support needed to deal with all the safety problems faced in high-rise homes, including those that relate to non-ACM cladding – such as Sheffield buildings like Metis and Wicker Riverside - and that, furthermore, there is no real help for buildings with other safety issues or buildings under 18 metres in height;

 

(f)       believes that this is inexcusable, and that the Government must come forward with proposals for comprehensive remediation for safety issues and all buildings, at no cost to leaseholders;

 

(g)      notes that locally this Administration is fully supporting Sheffield City Council tenants in high-rises and, having checked out all blocks, no further cladding is to be removed, and that all blocks are regularly checked for fire safety protection;

 

(h)      further notes that, as part of the Housing Revenue Account, the Council will invest £500 million into council housing stock over the next five years, including investment in further health and safety measures such as fire safety improvements;

 

(i)       notes, however, that far more needs to be done for those in private blocks and notes that the Leader of the Council has confirmed the Council’s support for the campaign to ‘End Our Cladding Scandal’ which demands that Government leads a national effort to ensure safety in all tower blocks, with the prioritisation of those blocks most at risk;

 

(j)       confirms its backing for Sheffield Cladding Action Group and their calls on the Government to take these 10 steps to end the National Cladding Scandal:-

 

(i)       the Government must lead an urgent national effort to remove all dangerous cladding from buildings by June 2022;

 

(ii)       the Building Safety Fund must cover all buildings, regardless of height, and a range of internal and external fire safety defects, not just cladding;

 

(iii)      the Government should provide the money up front and then seek to recover it from any responsible parties or via a temporary levy on development;

 

(iv)      social housing providers must have full and equal access to the fund;

 

(v)      the Government must compel building owners or managers to be honest with residents about fire safety defects;

 

(vi)      the Government should cover the cost of interim safety measures;

 

(vii)     the Government should act as an insurer of last resort and underwrite insurance where premiums have soared;

 

(viii)    a fairer, faster process is needed to replace the EWS form and funding is necessary to ensure all buildings requiring a form are surveyed within 12 months;

 

(ix)      mental health support must be offered to affected residents; and

 

(x)      protecting residents from historic and future costs must be a key commitment of new building safety legislation; and

 

(k)      commits to putting this motion and the 10 demands directly to Government.

 

 

Minutes:

4.1

RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Tony Damms and seconded by Councillor Dianne Hurst, that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.1, the order of business as published on the Council Summons be altered by (a) taking item 9 (Notice of Motion Regarding “Demanding An End To The National Cladding Scandal”) as the next item of business and (b) moving item 6 (Notice of Motion Regarding “Thanking The City's Workers and Demanding Pay Justice For Them”) to be taken after item 8 on the agenda.

 

 

4.2

It was moved by Councillor Paul Wood, and seconded by Jim Steinke, that this Council:-

 

 

 

(a)      notes it is now over three and half years since the tragic Grenfell Tower fire and yet the Government have failed to get to grips with the scandal of dangerous cladding;

 

 

 

(b)      notes that lack of proper action from government over covering the costs has affected Sheffield residents with many having bought their property in good faith, only to face both the immediate cost of having to fund ‘waking watches’, as well as not knowing whether they will one day be confronted by a financially crippling bill from their building owner for remedial works;

 

 

 

(c)      believes it would be distressing to see anyone held to ransom in this way at any time, but it is even more concerning given the current economic uncertainty and pandemic, and that whilst all of this hangs over them, owners in these tower blocks have little chance of selling their flats, and it is not hard to imagine the impact this must be having on the mental wellbeing of the individuals affected;

 

 

 

(d)      believes it is time for firm action from the Government rather than continued broken promises, to avoid a repeat of the Grenfell Tower tragedy;

 

 

 

(e)      believes that government are not providing the support needed to deal with all the safety problems faced in high-rise homes, including those that relate to non-ACM cladding – such as Sheffield buildings like Metis and Wicker Riverside - and that, furthermore, there is no real help for buildings with other safety issues or buildings under 18 metres in height;

 

 

 

(f)       believes that this is inexcusable, and that the Government must come forward with proposals for comprehensive remediation for safety issues and all buildings, at no cost to leaseholders;

 

 

 

(g)      notes that locally this Administration is fully supporting Sheffield City Council tenants in high-rises and, having checked out all blocks, no further cladding is to be removed, and that all blocks are regularly checked for fire safety protection;

 

 

 

(h)      further notes that, as part of the Housing Revenue Account, the Council will invest £500 million into council housing stock over the next five years, including investment in further health and safety measures such as fire safety improvements;

 

 

 

(i)       notes, however, that far more needs to be done for those in private blocks and notes that the Leader of the Council has confirmed the Council’s support for the campaign to ‘End Our Cladding Scandal’ which demands that Government leads a national effort to ensure safety in all tower blocks, with the prioritisation of those blocks most at risk;

 

 

 

(j)       confirms its backing for Sheffield Cladding Action Group and their calls on the Government to take these 10 steps to end the National Cladding Scandal:-

 

 

 

(i)       the Government must lead an urgent national effort to remove all dangerous cladding from buildings by June 2022;

 

 

 

(ii)       the Building Safety Fund must cover all buildings, regardless of height, and a range of internal and external fire safety defects, not just cladding;

 

 

 

(iii)      the Government should provide the money up front and then seek to recover it from any responsible parties or via a temporary levy on development;

 

 

 

(iv)      social housing providers must have full and equal access to the fund;

 

 

 

(v)      the Government must compel building owners or managers to be honest with residents about fire safety defects;

 

 

 

(vi)      the Government should cover the cost of interim safety measures;

 

 

 

(vii)     the Government should act as an insurer of last resort and underwrite insurance where premiums have soared;

 

 

 

(viii)    a fairer, faster process is needed to replace the EWS form and funding is necessary to ensure all buildings requiring a form are surveyed within 12 months;

 

 

 

(ix)      mental health support must be offered to affected residents; and

 

 

 

(x)      protecting residents from historic and future costs must be a key commitment of new building safety legislation; and

 

 

 

(k)      commits to putting this motion and the 10 demands directly to Government.

 

 

4.3

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Martin Phipps, seconded by Councillor Kaltum Rivers, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

 

 

 

1.     the addition of new paragraphs (e) and (f) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (e) to (j) as new paragraphs (g) to (l);

 

 

 

(e)      deeply regrets that, because of the cladding crisis, residents in the Wicker Riverside were evacuated during a pandemic, and just before Christmas, and that residents subsequently lived with the fear that they may be asked to evacuate their homes for months;

 

 

 

(f)       welcomes the installation of the alarm to relieve the waking watch in Wicker Riverside, but believes that, even with the Wicker Riverside having received “emergency” funding for the alarm to be fitted from the Waking Watch Relief Fund, first announced in December, it took far too long to install, with tens of thousands of pounds for the cost of waking watches falling on residents and a real impact to their mental health and sense of security;

 

 

 

2.       the addition of new paragraphs (m) to (r) as follows:-

 

 

 

(m)     requests officers investigate how the Council can implement:-

 

 

 

(i)       requiringfreeholders of private or housing association residential blocks taller than eighteen metres in Sheffield to make publicly available periodic fire risk and safety assessments, with a recommendation that this duty does not lead to a disproportionate cost for leaseholders or tenants; and

 

(ii)      querying developers submitting new planning applications of their suitability to build again in Sheffield, if any previous construction project of theirs is subject to unresolved cladding or other major fire safety issues like compartmentation;

 

 

 

(n)      notes the results of the mental health study by Dr Martin of the UK Cladding Action Group of those affected by the cladding crisis where 9 in 10 people said their mental health had deteriorated as a direct result of the cladding situation;

 

 

 

(o)      resolves to consider how the Council could enable access to additional mental health support for those affected by the fire safety crisis, consulting with mental health services (both VCSEs, SCC and NHS) and cladding groups for how this could be best provided;

 

 

 

(p)      requests that officers report regularly to the relevant committee on the work to remove combustible cladding from residential properties, and address other serious fire safety issues like compartmentation, in Sheffield;

 

 

 

(q)      resolves to learn the lessons of the perceived lack of communication and transparency with Hanover Tower residents that is believed to have led to tenants’ losing trust;

 

 

 

(r)       resolves to send this motion to all Sheffield MPs and ask that they support amendments to the Fire Safety Bill that seek to prevent the costs of fire safety issues falling on leaseholders, and ask them to ask others in their parties to do the same;

 

 

 

3.     the re-lettering of original paragraph (k) as a new paragraph (s) and the addition of a new paragraph (t) as follows:-

 

 

 

(t)       resolves to write to ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to support the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign and publish a database of every affected building, including type, height and cladding material used.

 

 

4.4

After contributions from nine other Members, and following a right of reply from Councillor Paul Wood, the amendment moved by Councillor Martin Phipps was put to the vote and was carried, with the exception of paragraph (q) in part 2 of the amendment which was negatived.

 

 

4.4.1

(NOTE: The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Gail Smith) and Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Bob Pullin, Richard Shaw, Bob McCann, Tim Huggan, Mohammed Mahroof, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Vic Bowden, Roger Davison, Barbara Masters, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Kevin Oxley, David Baker, Penny Baker, Vickie Priestley, Alan Hooper and Mike Levery, voted for part 1, paragraphs (m), (n), (o), (q) and (r) of part 2 and part 3 of the amendment, and voted against paragraph (p) in part 2 of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.)

 

 

4.5

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

 

 

 

 

 

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

 

 

 

(a)      notes it is now over three and a half years since the tragic Grenfell Tower fire and yet the Government have failed to get to grips with the scandal of dangerous cladding;

 

 

 

(b)      notes that lack of proper action from government over covering the costs has affected Sheffield residents with many having bought their property in good faith, only to face both the immediate cost of having to fund ‘waking watches’, as well as not knowing whether they will one day be confronted by a financially crippling bill from their building owner for remedial works;

 

 

 

(c)      believes it would be distressing to see anyone held to ransom in this way at any time, but it is even more concerning given the current economic uncertainty and pandemic, and that whilst all of this hangs over them, owners in these tower blocks have little chance of selling their flats, and it is not hard to imagine the impact this must be having on the mental wellbeing of the individuals affected;

 

 

 

(d)      believes it is time for firm action from the Government rather than continued broken promises, to avoid a repeat of the Grenfell Tower tragedy;

 

 

 

(e)      deeply regrets that, because of the cladding crisis, residents in the Wicker Riverside were evacuated during a pandemic, and just before Christmas, and that residents subsequently lived with the fear that they may be asked to evacuate their homes for months;

 

 

 

(f)       welcomes the installation of the alarm to relieve the waking watch in Wicker Riverside, but believes that, even with the Wicker Riverside having received “emergency” funding for the alarm to be fitted from the Waking Watch Relief Fund, first announced in December, it took far too long to install, with tens of thousands of pounds for the cost of waking watches falling on residents and a real impact to their mental health and sense of security;

 

 

 

(g)      believes that government are not providing the support needed to deal with all the safety problems faced in high-rise homes, including those that relate to non-ACM cladding – such as Sheffield buildings like Metis and Wicker Riverside - and that, furthermore, there is no real help for buildings with other safety issues or buildings under 18 metres in height;

 

 

 

(h)      believes that this is inexcusable, and that the Government must come forward with proposals for comprehensive remediation for safety issues and all buildings, at no cost to leaseholders;

 

 

 

(i)       notes that locally this Administration is fully supporting Sheffield City Council tenants in high-rises and, having checked out all blocks, no further cladding is to be removed, and that all blocks are regularly checked for fire safety protection;

 

 

 

(j)       further notes that, as part of the Housing Revenue Account, the Council will invest £500 million into council housing stock over the next five years, including investment in further health and safety measures such as fire safety improvements;

 

 

 

(k)      notes, however, that far more needs to be done for those in private blocks and notes that the Leader of the Council has confirmed the Council’s support for the campaign to ‘End Our Cladding Scandal’ which demands that Government leads a national effort to ensure safety in all tower blocks, with the prioritisation of those blocks most at risk;

 

 

 

(l)       confirms its backing for Sheffield Cladding Action Group and their calls on the Government to take these 10 steps to end the National Cladding Scandal:-

 

 

 

(i)       the Government must lead an urgent national effort to remove all dangerous cladding from buildings by June 2022;

 

(ii)       the Building Safety Fund must cover all buildings, regardless of height, and a range of internal and external fire safety defects, not just cladding;

 

(iii)      the Government should provide the money up front and then seek to recover it from any responsible parties or via a temporary levy on development;

 

(iv)      social housing providers must have full and equal access to the fund;

 

(v)      the Government must compel building owners or managers to be honest with residents about fire safety defects;

 

(vi)      the Government should cover the cost of interim safety measures;

 

(vii)     the Government should act as an insurer of last resort and underwrite insurance where premiums have soared;

 

(viii)    a fairer, faster process is needed to replace the EWS form and funding is necessary to ensure all buildings requiring a form are surveyed within 12 months;

 

(ix)      mental health support must be offered to affected residents; and

 

(x)      protecting residents from historic and future costs must be a key commitment of new building safety legislation;

 

 

 

(m)     requests officers investigate how the Council can implement:-

 

 

 

(i)       requiringfreeholders of private or housing association residential blocks taller than eighteen metres in Sheffield to make publicly available periodic fire risk and safety assessments, with a recommendation that this duty does not lead to a disproportionate cost for leaseholders or tenants; and

 

(ii)       querying developers submitting new planning applications of their suitability to build again in Sheffield, if any previous construction project of theirs is subject to unresolved cladding or other major fire safety issues like compartmentation;

 

 

 

(n)      notes the results of the mental health study by Dr Martin of the UK Cladding Action Group of those affected by the cladding crisis where 9 in 10 people said their mental health had deteriorated as a direct result of the cladding situation;

 

 

 

(o)      resolves to consider how the Council could enable access to additional mental health support for those affected by the fire safety crisis, consulting with mental health services (both VCSEs, SCC and NHS) and cladding groups for how this could be best provided;

 

 

 

(p)      requests that officers report regularly to the relevant committee on the work to remove combustible cladding from residential properties, and address other serious fire safety issues like compartmentation, in Sheffield;

 

 

 

(q)      resolves to send this motion to all Sheffield MPs and ask that they support amendments to the Fire Safety Bill that seek to prevent the costs of fire safety issues falling on leaseholders, and ask them to ask others in their parties to do the same;

 

 

 

(r)       commits to putting this motion and the 10 demands directly to Government; and

 

 

 

(s)      resolves to write to ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to support the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign and publish a database of every affected building, including type, height and cladding material used.