Rushanara Ali replaced as building safety minister

15/11/24

Alex Norris has been appointed as the new building safety minister following the resignation of Rushanara Ali on October 21.

Before stepping into this role, Norris served as the minister for local growth and democracy within the Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities and was previously the shadow fire minister prior to the general election.

Norris has been vocal in Parliament about the urgent need for accountability and progress in building safety.

During a recent debate on building safety and resilience, he criticised the slow pace of remediation of unsafe cladding, emphasising that had Parliament known the issue would persist seven years after the Grenfell Tower fire, they would have viewed it as a collective failure.

Norris has also recognised the significant burden on leaseholders, who continue to face extreme financial pressures due to slow building safety reforms, including steep insurance premiums.

Recent government figures indicate that of the 4,821 residential buildings in England taller than 11 metres with unsafe cladding, only 50 per cent have seen remediation work started or completed.

This has raised concerns about the pace of progress, which was previously flagged as “unacceptably slow” by the National Audit Office in a June 2020 investigation.

The office plans to release an updated report this autumn on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s progress.

Rushanara Ali’s resignation followed concerns over her participation in a Franco-British Colloque conference sponsored by Saint Gobain, the parent company of Celotex, criticised during the Grenfell Inquiry.

Although Ali remains as homelessness minister, she acknowledged the importance of trust between ministers and the Grenfell community, stepping down from her building safety role accordingly.