Checks find combustible cladding on seven tower blocks

Combustible cladding has been found on seven high-rise blocks of flats in four local authority areas in England, Downing Street has said.

The Bray tower block in the Chalcots estate, Camden.

Samples taken from the buildings failed government tests to determine whether the cladding is combustible and will now be checked by the fire and rescue services, Prime Minister Theresa May’s deputy spokeswoman said.

However, no local authority blocks in Scotland are understood to have the type of cladding used in Grenfell Tower, consistent with current building standards regulations in Scotland.

Landlords in England are informing tenants in the buildings about the failed tests and the next steps.

The spokeswoman said: “Failing this test does not necessarily mean that your building may be declared unsafe. It will be subject to further testing that is undertaken by the fire services to do that, and if that is the case then we will be obviously working with local authorities and the landlords to make sure that nobody stays in a building that’s proved to be unsafe.”

Councils in England estimate that around 600 high-rise buildings have some form of cladding, with landlords asked to check if they used similar aluminium composite material (ACM) panels to Grenfell Tower. It is suspected the material used to clad the exterior of the west London block accelerated the spread of last week’s blaze, which left at least 79 people dead.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the government to ensure funds were available to make the high-rise structures safe.

He told the Commons this would be so councils “carry out immediate fire safety checks and install sprinklers” and said residents should be made aware of the timetable.

“There is obviously a huge cost involved in removing and recladding blocks that are found to have flammable materials included in them,” he said. “That resources, that money, must be made available immediately because it is a huge job of work, and when the Prime Minister says that those people who are in danger must be moved out of their properties – this is a massive undertaking and a huge focus of government resources will have to go into it.”

A string of high-rise buildings across the country, including Camden, London, were said to have been found with flammable façades or were to have their cladding removed over safety fears.

Responses from Scottish local authorities and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive suggested that the type of cladding used in Grenfell Tower has not been used on their high-rise blocks.

An inquiry into whether cladding in Grenfell Tower met fire safety regulations will be published in the next 48 hours.