The much anticipated publication of the government’s consultation on banning combustible cladding materials has at least the merit of putting to rest any ambiguity about what materials it is safe to use on high-rise residential buildings.

The government makes its position absolutely clear in the consultation. Its preferred option is a ban on all combustible cladding materials used on buildings over 18m high. To avoid any confusion this will also apply to the entire building, not just the bit above 18m.

The ban will apply to the complete wall assembly including balconies and brises-soleil. The option to prove compliance with Approved Document B of the Building Regulations, which covers fire by using a full-scale test to BS 8414, will also be banned. This means the use of controversial desktop studies to prove compliance becomes redundant as these assessments were ostensibly based on BS 8414 test data.

The government is saying the industry isn’t capable of constructing buildings correctly and has very limited understanding of anything technical

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