A cross-party committee of MPs are set to scrutinise the government’s progress in removing dangerous cladding from high-rise blocks and whether the funding scheme for remedial works is fit for purpose.

Since the Grenfell tragedy, many tower block residents have been left to foot the bill for round-the-clock fire patrols, huge increases in their insurance premiums and difficulties selling or remortgaging their homes.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee says public funding has been limited to the removal of Aluminium Composite Material cladding from private sector homes, yet even for these residents ,work has yet to begin on 143 out of 175 properties

Meanwhile, it says, residents in properties with other forms of cladding remain “in limbo”,  with no idea of the timescale for removal and the potential that they will be hit with bills of tens of thousands of pounds. 

The Association of Residential Managing Agents calculated that up to 500,000 people lived in homes that had some form of combustible cladding and the National Housing Federation has put the potential cost of removal at £10bn for the social housing sector alone.

The inquiry will address the scale of issues facing residents and the effectiveness of government support for the removal of all forms of dangerous cladding with a particular focus on the pace of work.

The HCLG committee previously examined the government’s response to the Grenfell fire.

HCLG committee chair Clive Betts says: “There are still hundreds of buildings encased in combustible cladding and thousands of residents facing serious financial strain as a result. 

“The knock-on effect of dangerous cladding on buildings has been significant, with homeowners facing increased insurance or mortgage premiums, and even having to fund round-the-clock fire patrols simply to stay in their own homes.

“The government is providing financial support to enable the removal of ACM cladding from privately owned buildings, but this appears to be far short of what is necessary to address the real scale of the issue.”

He adds: “This committee has already called on the government to fund the removal of all forms of combustible cladding and criticised the pace of change. 

“Nearly 1,000 days since the fire at Grenfell Tower, these issues must now be addressed.”