LABOUR’S plans to remove dangerous cladding that led to the Grenfell disaster will “only make a horribly complicated process worse,” campaigners warned today.

End Our Cladding Scandal, a group representing leaseholders affected by unsafe buildings, said the “extremely disappointing” proposals are “still far from a comprehensive solution” on building safety.

Ministers announced today that building owners who fail to remove dangerous cladding could face jail as they set a 2029 deadline for action.

The Remediation Acceleration Plan says that all buildings over 59ft (18m) tall with unsafe cladding on a government scheme will have been remediated by the end of the decade.

Similar buildings over 36ft (11m) tall will either have been remediated or have a date for completion, with landlords liable for tough penalties if they fail to comply.

The announcement is more than seven years after the Grenfell Tower disaster killed 72 people.

The inquiry into the blaze found that victims, the bereaved and survivors were “badly failed” as the west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms that made and sold the cladding and insulation.

Today the government estimated that between 4,000 and 7,000 buildings with flammable cladding remain unidentified since the disaster.

End Our Cladding Scandal said in a statement: “Labour’s Remediation Acceleration Plan is extremely disappointing.

“These proposals will only make a horribly complicated process worse with further layers of bureaucracy.

“The government may be patting itself on the back by announcing a target date for all high-rise buildings in government-funded schemes to have been remediated; however, the Building Safety Fund first opened for registrations in June 2020, so a target date of nine years from then is underwhelming.

“We are still far from a comprehensive solution that will bring about the change innocent leaseholders and residents across the country need and deserve to see.

“There is still far too much uncertainty. Severe penalties will be meaningless without leaseholders and residents knowing for sure when homes will be made fully safe. This ‘plan’ will do little to change that.”

In 2021, Labour vowed to create a “building works agency” that will “assess, fix and certify” tall buildings and to legislate to ensure that leaseholders do not have to pay for building safety work.

Then shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell announced her party’s plan to solve the building safety crisis if re-elected would involve the creation of “a building works agency to assess, fix and fund then certify all tall buildings.”

The agency would then “pursue those responsible for costs” and her party would “put in law that leaseholders won’t pay” for building safety work, she told Labour’s party conference.

End Our Cladding Scandal added: “After over seven years trapped in this living nightmare, ordinary people need and deserve meaningful change.

“We need Labour to keep its promises and introduce a building works agency, the mechanism and law for this are broadly in place and new legal powers must be introduced where required.

“We are tired of warm words; we are tired of government deflecting to industry or local regulators rather than getting a grip of this crisis.

“If Labour chooses not to protect all leaseholders and not to recreate the proposals for a building works agency that it put forward in 2021, they must say exactly why they have decided to make innocent victims of this scandal pay for issues we played no part in causing.”

A spokesman for Momentum said: “Seven years since the devastating fire at Grenfell, thousands of buildings are still wrapped with the same dangerous cladding.

“Waiting until 2029 is still far too long. People should not be living in fear in their own homes and guilty companies must be held accountable.”

Councillor Heather Kidd, chairwoman of the Local Government Association’s safer and stronger communities board, added: “Councils are committed to keeping tenants and residents safe, and are keen to work with government to drive the pace of remediation.

“However, for local government to carry out enforcement and addressing cladding issues as effectively and quickly as possible, multi-year funding arrangements are needed.”

Building Safety Minister Alex Norris warned building owners “we are after” building owners who breach the remediation plans.

“They will feel the force of the law,” he said.

“We have a range of powers already, ranging from fines to prison sentences, that can be used in health and safety cases.

“We will use that basket of tools in whatever way with each building to get it resolved. We have committed that that will be the case by the end of this decade.”

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner added: “The pace of remediation has been far too slow for far too long. 

“Our Remediation Acceleration Plan will ensure those responsible for making buildings safe deliver the change residents need and deserve.”