Philip Hammond misses a chance to tackle social injustice | Letters
While it's encouraging to hear the chancellor commit to investment for raising housing supply in his spring statement (Report, 14 March), the question should be asked why an allocation of this budget is not being diverted to fund the vital safety works that are needed on existing buildings. Fire safety concerns have been building up for a number of years, as a result of ineffective maintenance or of fundamental design, specification and installation problems. Grenfell has shone a spotlight on this, yet still financial and political barriers are preventing essential works from taking place and leaving vulnerable people sleeping in buildings that are potentially unsafe. As the collateral costs of Grenfell become more apparent - and with reports that only three council-owned high-rises out of the 160 that failed the government's fire safety tests have yet been reclad - it is imperative that the Treasury makes an allocation for such potentially life-critical work.
We believe that the solution is a building safety fund, similar to the Pension Protection Fund. The fund would allow housing associations and local authorities to focus on what needs to be done while applying to the scheme to fund the works.
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