Budget 2020: £1bn fund to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings

The Chancellor has announced a £1 billion fund to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise residential buildings, as the Government continues to deal with the legacy of Grenfell.

Rishi Sunak announced the money to scrap all combustible cladding materials from all residential buildings over 18 metres tall in the Budget on Wednesday.

The Government had previously committed a total of £600 million to get rid of the type of panels like those used on Grenfell.

This was made up of:

  • £400 million for removal of the material from social housing blocks

  • An additional £200 million to scrap it from private buildings

At the Citiscape building in Croydon residents faced a £2m bill to replace its Grenfell-style cladding

Rishi Sunak also said that the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, will also make sure that: "Developers and building owners do their fair share as well."

Last year, the first stage of an inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire found that the cladding system was the "principal" reason for the flames' "profoundly shocking" spread up the north Kensington block in June 2017.