Oral Answers to Questions

Meg Hillier Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman, the Father of the House, for his question. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is taking urgent action to clear the backlog of cases and reduce the use of asylum accommodation, saving millions for taxpayers. I will ensure that he is kept fully updated as the Scampton decommissioning and disposal process is followed.

[Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q15. In my constituency, hundreds of leaseholders, tenants and shared owners are living in properties with cladding and other defects. Around the country, there are thousands. Their lives are on hold. Many are facing bankruptcy and delaying having children, unable to move. We have had another change in ministerial responsibility. Will the Deputy Prime Minister take a personal lead on keeping on top of this issue, as years since Grenfell people are still living in limbo and need some hope of change?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for her important question. Let me say from the outset that the pace of remediation has been too slow. I do take a personal lead: seven years on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it is unacceptable that so many buildings still have unsafe cladding. I am meeting developers, mayors, regulators and national building safety bodies to press the urgency of this work, and I will ensure that action is being taken to make homes safe.