“Thousands of buildings across Britain have been fitted with external cladding similar to the kind implicated in the unprecedented spread of the Grenfell Tower fire.
The public sector alone has spent £553 million on contracts to wrap such insulation round the outside of buildings including homes, schools, hospitals and leisure centres.
In the absence of any central record of which buildings have been fitted with cladding, or which type of insulation materials have been used, the government yesterday launched an emergency review of 4,000 tower blocks owned by councils and housing associations in England.
European safety campaigners said that despite repeated lobbying Britain lagged behind many other countries in allowing potentially combustible materials to be used on building façades.
As EU officials discussed the repercussions of the blaze, Fire Safe Europe, which lobbies to raise the profile of fire safety, said Britain was among a number of countries that needed to improve building regulations and testing regimes in relation to cladding materials.”
Source: Times ( firewall)
East Devon Watch 