'Far too many' buildings unsafe

A HOUSING minister has warned "far too many" buildings remain unsafe, with work to remove dangerous cladding yet to begin at almost 50% of monitored properties.

Lord Khan of Burnley said there is a need to "go further, faster" as he told peers that remediation work has not started at 2,415 residential buildings 11m and over in height in England. His remarks came as the House of Lords debated the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Report, which Lord Khan said focused on fire safety but also "exposed wider failures in practice and culture" across government and industry.

Campaigners have repeatedly criticised the slow progress of remediation work in the seven years since the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people in 2017.