Lesley McLeod, CEO, The Association for Project Safety commented on the Government’s announcement of a £200m fund to replace unsafe Grenfell Tower-style cladding on private high-rise residential buildings:

 “Safety needs to be built in so, while the government’s commitment to additional funding to replace high-rise cladding is welcome, it is better sense to tackle construction risks at the outset. The Association for Project Safety (APS) believes it is vital everyone who lives in a high-rise home can be confident they are safe so safety must be the priority right from the planning stage.

“Safety is at the core of good design and the APS remains committed to working with the government and other professionals in the construction sector to promote and share good practice, as well as making sure everyone can build the skills and knowledge, they need to make Britain’s building better.

“The APS welcomes the use of public funds to make high rise buildings safer, but we are concerned the timetable is very tight and that funds may prove insufficient – we believe it is better to do things right than force a potentially unrealistic deadline and budget on the project.”