Grenfell Tower fire: Government 'too slow to reassure residents' living in similar blocks, says Labour

'It is totally unacceptable that four weeks on ministers still don't know and can't say how many other tower blocks are unsafe'

It comes after The Independent revealed 'combustible' cladding similar to the panels at the centre of the criminal investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire was not being tested by the Government (Pete Maclaine / i-Images)

The Government must speed up its national fire safety initiative following the Grenfell Tower tragedy to reassure thousands of people living in similar blocks, Labour has said.

Shadow housing secretary John Healey criticised the Government for being "too slow to reassure residents", claiming the safety check process is "in chaos".

He also condemned the Department for Communities and Local Government's (DCLG) failure to list buildings that failed the combustibility testing carried out in the wake of the North Kensington blaze that killed at least 80 people.

Housing minister Alok Sharma, in response to a written parliamentary question from Mr Healey, said DCLG has indicated it would need more time to finish preparing its answer.

MPs are to debate the fire inquiry, to be chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Healey said: "It is totally unacceptable that four weeks on from the Grenfell Tower fire ministers still don't know and can't say how many other tower blocks are unsafe.

"The Government has been off the pace at every stage in response to this terrible fire.

"Too slow to grasp the complexity of the help survivors need and too slow to reassure residents in 4,000 other tower blocks across the country."

Mr Healey said ministers have "failed to take responsibility" for getting tower blocks fully tested or for funding remedial work needed when buildings have failed the test.

He added: "The result is a Government testing programme which is too slow, too narrow and too unclear.

"The fire testing process is in chaos as councils and housing associations don't know what's going on and residents are still fearful their homes are unsafe.

"Four weeks on, ministers must now act to widen the testing programme and reassure all high-rise residents that their homes are either safe, or that the Government will fund the urgent work to make them so."

It comes after The Independent revealed "combustible" cladding similar to the panels at the centre of the criminal investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire was not being tested by the Government.

Testing was being limited to panels made of aluminium composite material (ACM) – the type that is believed to have aided the unprecedented spread of the blaze at the 24-storey building last month.

But fire safety experts warned The Independent the tests could be the tip of the iceberg, with many other types of cladding likely to fail the Government’s own standard for fire safety.

Non-ACM cladding systems CEP and Carea are not made of aluminium, but have a near identical construction to the Reynobond ACM panels used on Grenfell Tower.

Niall Rowan, COO of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, told The Independent: “If you put this cladding through Government testing, it would fail, I would put money on it.

“They are different materials to the Reynobond but they would all have a similar reaction to fire under the fire test.”

Several London boroughs announced drastic changes to fire safety measures in the wake of the tragedy.

Brent Council has revealed a £10 million fire safety plan for tower blocks in the borough with sprinklers, smoke detectors and fire alarms forming part of a range of "enhanced safety measures".

Croydon Council said sprinklers will go into individual flats or communal areas of the council's 25 tallest blocks at 10, 11 or 12 storeys, with work starting this October and finishing next spring.

Additional reporting by agencies