Huge ‘waking watch’ fees to stop Grenfell-style fires are ‘a national scandal’, Cabinet minister says

Residents of cladded buildings are paying average of £331 a month - but staff employed often have minimal fire safety training

Hundreds of buildings are still wrapped in cladding – after government promises to remove it were broken (AFP via Getty Images)

The “outrageous fees” charged by firms patrolling buildings at risk of a Grenfell-style fire are “a national scandal” and must be cut, a Cabinet minister says.

Robert Jenrick attacked the charges for so-called “waking watches” of buildings still wrapped in cladding – after government promises to remove it were broken.

The costs are passed onto residents, who are paying an average of £331 a month. In London, the typical monthly bill is £499, but some households face even larger fees.

Tackled in the Commons by a Tory MP, Mr Jenrick said: “He's right to draw our attention to waking watch, which is increasingly a national scandal in itself. This is a rip off.

“We have published research which demonstrates that some of the operators of these businesses, the contractors, are charging outrageous fees for very little.”

The comments come amid growing anger over the continued presence of cladding on hundreds of buildings, more than three years after the Grenfell tragedy claimed 72 lives.

Back in March, Rishi Sunak announced a £1bn fund to remove “all unsafe combustible cladding on buildings more than 18m high”, but the delays have continued – as have the waking watches.

They involve one or more people walking throughout a block or development, checking for signs of fire and sounding the alarm if a fire starts

In most cases, leaseholders are forced to hire private companies to carry out the job, on top of bills for cladding removal and increased insurance premiums.

The staff employed often have minimal or no fire safety training – and there are complaints of them falling asleep on the job, or causing a nuisance by keeping people awake all night.

In the Commons, Mr Jenrick said: “We will be reporting this to the regulatory authorities and hope that they will clamp down on these practices as quickly as possible.”

However, the Housing Secretary gave no clue as to how quickly action could or would be taken – or even which regulatory body would investigate.

Furthermore, he first pledged that his department would investigate the costs involved a full six months ago.

The National Audit Office warned in June that the government was falling well behind on its promise to replace dangerous cladding.

In some cases, leaseholders are known to have taken out loans worth tens of thousands of pounds to make their buildings safe in advance of assumed government cash.

In September, quizzed in the Commons, Boris Johnson admitted: “I am aware of this problem of people facing real disadvantage, leaseholders and others, because of the unsafe cladding still on their buildings. I think it is disgraceful.”