MPs have slammed the government’s response to the cladding scandal in a report calling for more funding to make buildings safe and prevent the financial burden from falling on leaseholders.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee (HCLGC) says current plans fail to deliver on ministers’ promises that leaseholders should not be left to foot the bill for the removal of cladding.

The government has refuted the criticisms, calling the MPs’ report “deeply flawed” .

It comes after yet another vote in the House of Commons yesterday blocked an amendment by the Lords which sought to protect leaseholders from remediation costs.

It was voted down by 321 Conservative MPs yesterday, while 32 MPs from the party rebelled and voted to carry the amendment, alongside 194 Labour MPs and 30 MPs from other parties.

A previous version of the amendment was voted down on Tuesday by a similar majority of Conservative MPs.

Housing minister Christopher Pincher argued that the amendments to ban building owners from passing on costs to leaseholders risked stalling the progress of the Fire Safety Bill and slowing down the implementation of remedial work.

But other MPs claim that measures to protect leaseholders from paying the price for unsafe buildings are a vital part of the response to the Grenfell tragedy.

Today’s report from the HCLGC calls on the government to scrap its cladding loan scheme that would require some leaseholders to pay up to £50 a month and instead establish a comprehensive building safety fund to pay for work on all blocks with fire safety risks regardless of the building’s height, the tenure of residents or the nature of the defects.

The fund should be financed by government and the building industry.

The Committee says that current arrangements base funding on building height and materials, but instead the support should be targeted where residents’ safety is most at risk.

It argues that proposals to fund cladding remediation on buildings below 18 metres through a loan scheme, requiring leaseholders to pay up to £50 a month, should also be abandoned. 

HCLGC chair Clive Betts says: “While the extra funding for cladding removal is welcome, it will be swamped by the sheer scale of fire safety issues in multi-occupancy buildings.

“In the years since the Grenfell tragedy, we have been shocked by the reality of the danger that flammable cladding poses, by how pervasive these materials are in modern buildings and by the frequency with which fundamental fire safety measures, including fire breaks and sprinkler systems, are simply not there. 

“£5bn in funding is significant, but just cannot match the ongoing legacy of these fire safety failings. 

“Most importantly, the government’s recent proposals fail to adhere to the fundamental principle that leaseholders should not have to pay to fix these problems.

“That is why we have called on the government to enhance support and develop a comprehensive building safety fund that targets support to where occupants are most at risk, rather than the current height- and product-based approach. 

“Proposals to implement a loan scheme for leaseholders to pay for cladding remediation on buildings below 18 metres should also be abandoned. 

“We call on the government to revisit its proposals and develop a scheme that truly matches the scale of fire safety issues. 

“It must prioritise support to where the safety risk is greatest and rebalance the financial burden so that it falls on the government and industry, and not on leaseholders.” 

An MHCLG spokesperson says: “This report is deeply flawed – we’re already prioritising making the tallest buildings with the most dangerous cladding safer, backed by £5 billion Government funding.

“We have been clear throughout that owners and industry should make buildings safe without passing on costs to leaseholders – and we will ensure they pay for the mistakes of the past with a new levy and tax to contribute to the costs of remediation. 

“For lower-rise buildings which have a lower risk, our generous capped finance scheme will ensure bills are a maximum of £50 per month.

“Our approach strikes the right balance in protecting leaseholders and being fair to taxpayers.”