WHEN the Southfield Liberal Democrat Councillors and I were knocking on doors recently, many people spoke about issues they were having due to cladding.

Some spoke about the fears of whether their building was safe.

Others mentioned that they could not sell their buildings as planned since they had to pay an unknown bill for works that were needed.

There are other residents who do not know the implications of how their cladding may affect them.

The cladding scandal is affecting hundreds of thousands of leaseholders and residents across London including in Ealing.

Fire safety is essential, yet the current system in place to identify and remediate cladding and fire safety issues including dangerous cladding is not only perilously slow, presenting significant safety risks, but is also leaving thousands of leaseholders facing financial ruin.

This complete lack of urgency and comprehensive action by the Government on this matter is unacceptable.

The Tories in Parliament have voted at least three times and not helped these people out.

The London Liberal Democrats, led by new GLA member Hina Bokhari, support the ten demands of the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign and are calling on both the Government and the Mayor of London to work together to immediately ensure properties are made safe and none of the remediation or associated costs are passed on to leaseholders or residents in the capital.

Based on the recommendations of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee and backed by a range of sector bodies and MPs from across the political spectrum, these are Inside Housing's 10 steps to End Our Cladding Scandal:

• The government must lead an urgent national effort to remove all dangerous cladding from buildings by June 2022.
• The Building Safety Fund must cover all buildings, regardless of height, and a range of internal and external fire safety defects, not just cladding.
• The government should provide the money up front and then seek to recover it from any responsible parties or via a temporary levy on development.
• Social housing providers must have full and equal access to the fund.
• The government must compel building owners or managers to be honest with residents about fire safety defects.
• The government should cover the cost of interim safety measures.
• The government should act as an insurer of last resort and underwrite insurance where premiums have soared.
• A fairer, faster process is needed to replace the EWS form and funding is necessary to ensure all buildings requiring a form are surveyed within 12 months.
• Mental health support must be offered to affected residents.
• Protecting residents from historic and future costs must be a key commitment of new building safety legislation.

As more cases come to light when people are looking to move accommodation the need to address this issue will become stronger.

The Liberal Democrats set up a petition to put pressure on the government and the Mayor of London to take action on this important issue.

To sign the petition, click HERE.

*This article is part of the weekly column provided to Nub News by the leader of the Ealing Liberal Democrats, Councillor Gary Malcolm.

• The leaders of the other two main Ealing parties (Labour and Conservatives) have also been offered that opportunity, but so far have chosen not to take it.