The government fund to replace dangerous cladding is not enough to make all buildings safe, the Greater Manchester High Rise Task Force has warned.

The task force said that the £1bn fund will not be sufficient to address fire safety deficiencies in high rise buildings, let alone all other high risk premises.

It said that Greater Manchester alone would need a quarter of the fund to make all high rise and high risk buildings safe from fire.

The task force argued the fund should not be restricted to replacing cladding on buildings over 18 metres and funding must be available to ensure all affected buildings are made safe.

Mayor of Salford, Paul Dennett, said: ‘While I welcome the government’s creation of the Building Safety Fund, it’s simply not enough.

’Residents in Greater Manchester are worried sick about living in buildings which have been assessed as unsafe if there is a fire. This is compounded during the coronavirus crisis with many residents staying at home as much as possible to protect themselves and others.’