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Written Question
Carbon Monoxide: Alarms
Monday 10th October 2022

Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist on 20 September (HL2103), what is the timetable for the review of the regulations introduced on 1 October to extend requirements for carbon monoxide alarms.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The regulations, set out that it is the intention of the Government to publish a report on the conclusions of the first review of The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 by 1st October 2027, five years after the regulations have commenced. In the meantime, we continue to monitor to feedback from the social housing sector on how these regulations are being received and embedded into the sector. In light of the feedback already received, we plan to update the current guidance for tenants, landlords and local authorities.


Written Question
Carbon Dioxide: Alarms
Tuesday 20th September 2022

Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to revise their regulations on carbon monoxide alarms in accommodation to reflect the safety warning issued by the Office for Product Safety and Standards on 15 August on the use of gas grills.

Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist

The Government takes the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning in rented accommodation very seriously. For this reason, we have introduced legislation which comes into force on 1 October 2022 significantly to extend requirements for carbon monoxide alarms, so that they are required in all private and socially rented homes in rooms with fixed combustion appliances and where new fixed combustion appliances are installed in any home.

Consideration was given during the consultation process to including gas cookers (which would include the use of gas grills) in this legislation. The evidence available at the time of consultation showed that gas cookers are responsible for fewer incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning than gas boilers and that, as such, the inclusion of gas cookers within the regulations would be disproportionate. This view was broadly reflected in the responses to the consultation.

Given the imminent commencement of the regulations, there are no current plans to revise the 1 October 2022 regulations. The regulations are, however, subject to review in the future, and we may re-consider the case for inclusion of gas cookers, or other appliances, if required.


Written Question
Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning
Friday 8th July 2022

Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in formulating the draft Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022, they considered the impact of carbon monoxide poisoning arising from sources in adjacent properties; and why the draft Regulations do not include a requirement for audible carbon monoxide detectors in bedrooms where there is no fixed combustion appliance, except for gas cookers.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

In formulating the draft regulations, the Government considered national statistics on overall numbers of accidental carbon monoxide poisonings. This, and the falling costs of carbon monoxide alarms, supported the case to extend alarm requirements to include social housing, to rooms having fixed combustion appliances in both rented sectors and to rooms where fixed combustion appliances are installed all irrespective of heating fuel (excluding gas cookers). These regulations, which will provide parity between rented sectors, are applicable to dwellings where a landlord has responsibility for internal repairs and maintenance. They do not account for adjacent properties for which the landlord is not responsible. This decision was based on the evidence and the right balance between safety for residents and ensuring regulatory burdens are proportionate.

Requiring alarms in rooms with fixed combustion appliances will help to mitigate risks in other rooms, as alarms will detect and give audible warning of carbon monoxide before it has a chance to spread elsewhere. It would not be proportionate to mandate additional alarms in other rooms, including bedrooms, that do not contain a fixed combustion appliance.


Written Question
Environmental Health
Monday 5th July 2021

Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has to establish a Chief Environmental Health Officer role (1) to coordinate environmental health teams within local authorities, and (2) to provide advice and support to the Department.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

The Department convened the Regulatory Services Task and Finish Group in December 2020 to help coordinate central government’s expectation of regulatory services teams in local government and propose short and long-term options to support the sector. The Group consists of senior officials from government departments and senior representatives from the Local Government Association and local authorities


The Group is now focussed on developing a suite of recommendations to address the immediate and systemic issues faced by regulatory services teams, which includes environmental health teams. These recommendations will address areas including the cross-government coordination of departments and the establishment of ongoing links with local authority experts.


Written Question
Flats: Insulation
Tuesday 19th January 2021

Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all mortgage repayments and interest payments for leasehold flats with unsafe cladding purchased under the Help to Buy Scheme have been reset to zero for those properties now valued at zero; and whether all such repayments since the Grenfell Tower fire have been reimbursed.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

As at June 2020 NAO reported that Homes England estimates that 274 homes bought under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme were affected by ACM cladding, based on a comparison of Departmental building safety data and the Homes England Help to Buy loan accounts. Of these, 170 homes across 28 buildings have live loan accounts, with the remaining 104 homes having redeemed their loan.

The redemption value of all Help to Buy: Equity Loans is based on the current market value of the property. A RICS surveyor will assess the market value in accordance with terms set out in the loan agreement.

Homes England report that most of the buildings with live Help to Buy loans are well on the way to being fully remediated and therefore the progress made in building remediation means the consistent enforcement of the mortgage continues to be reasonable.


Written Question
High Rise Flats: Insulation
Tuesday 27th October 2020

Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the maximum level of fine they can impose on freeholders of flat blocks where dangerous cladding has not been removed; and how many such fines have been imposed since the Grenfell Tower Inquiry started.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

Government itself cannot impose fines but where building owners are failing to make acceptable progress in removing unsafe cladding then they should expect enforcement action by local authorities or Fire and Rescue Authorities. We have established a Joint Inspection Team to support local authorities in taking enforcement action where building owners are refusing to remediate high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding or are not making acceptable progress. Local authorities have a duty to take enforcement action under the Housing Act 2004 if they find the most serious ‘category 1’ hazards on residential premises and failure to comply with this can result in a financial penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court, which may result in a unlimited fine on conviction.

The Fire Safety Bill will also clarify that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the ‘Fire Safety Order’) applies to external wall systems and will put beyond doubt that Fire and Rescue Authorities can enforce against and where necessary, pursue prosecution if Responsible Persons or those otherwise responsible under the Fire Safety Order fail to take appropriate fire safety measures with regards to unsafe cladding in multi-occupied residential buildings. The highest financial penalty that can be imposed for non-compliance with the Fire Safety Order is an unlimited fine. It is for the Court to decide on a case-by-case basis what financial penalty should be allocated. Details of enforcement action taken or being taken by local authorities and Fire and Rescue Authorities in regard to the buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding can be found on the Building Safety Programme Monthly Data Release which is available (attached) at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aluminium-composite-material-cladding#acm-remediation-data .


Written Question
Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning
Monday 19th October 2015

Asked by: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to amend building regulations to require that extractor fans are not installed in open-plan kitchens with log burners, to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

Part J of the building regulations requires that when a combustion appliance is installed, an adequate supply of air is provided for safe combustion. The Government provides statutory guidance on how to meet this requirement and this includes avoiding the installation of solid fuel appliances and extractor fans in the same room. Where this is unavoidable, specialist advice should be sought to ensure safe operation of the appliance whether or not the extractor fan is running.There are no plans to amend these requirements or guidance.