EALING Central and Acton MP, Rupa Huq, has hosted an online meeting which discussed the subject of cladding on buildings in Ealing.

Almost 50 leaseholders from Ealing and Acton attended the meeting to hear from the panellists.

Some of whom included Sebastian O'Kelly of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership and Sarah Jones MP, Labour's Shadow Fire Service Minister.

They were also representatives present from local housing associations, including A2 Dominion, Catalyst, Notting Hill Genesis and Shepherds Bush Housing Group.

Last year, Dr Huq challenged the Prime Minister on the status of the EWS1 form, which is a safety certification document which must accompany property sales and often leaves residents and leaseholders trapped.

The EWS1 form is an external wall survey which ensures older buildings and blocks of flats are not built with combustible materials, such as cladding.

The same material which has been deemed somewhat responsible for the escalation of the Grenfell fire tragedy in 2017.

The Labour MP, who also serves as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on London Housing and Planning, added: "Unsafe cladding has been an incredibly active issue in the inbox lately, so I invited every constituent who has written in on the topic to take part in this discussion.

"Four years after the tragedy of Grenfell after everyone vowed 'never again' but millions are still affected by the scandal, trapped in an impossible bind taking a devastating toll on their mental health and forking out for pricey safety measures."

"There had been a partial widening of cladding funding, but the Conservatives have not gone far enough: they voted against putting vital Grenfell Inquiry recommendations into law.

"And they voted down protections for leaseholders, so they are no longer burdened with the costs of fixing problems they did not cause."

Sarah Jones said: "Buildings must be made safe and residents must be protected.

"I am committed to doing all I can in Parliament to resolving the cladding crisis once and for all."

Numerous examples were given from residents in devastating situations who thought they had moved to the home of their dreams only to find in reality the situation had fast become a nightmare.

Sebastian O'Kelly later said: "I found the meeting really interesting.

"Good to get the views of both the housing association executives and the leaseholders, though they differ somewhat, I could not help noticing."

The Government has advised it will fund the removal and placement of unsafe cladding on buildings over 18 metres.

In buildings of 11-18 metres, with a lower risk to safety, leaseholders will gain new protection from the costs of cladding removal through a financing scheme so that leaseholders will never pay more than £50 a month.