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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of building control officers fully accredited to deliver the new building safety regime when it comes into effect on 1 April, and (2) the capacity of such building control officers to fully enforce that regime across each relevant local authority from that date.

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

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 16272 on 5 March 2024.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of low-rise homes in England clad in flammable Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride panels, (2) emerging acute fire risks, as evidenced by the fire at Moss Hall Grove in the London Borough of Barnet, and (3) the funding of appropriate remedial action.

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

We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking, following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is aware and is keeping the situation under review, in line with their duty under the Building Safety Act to keep the safety and standards of all buildings under review.

The department will continue to liaise with the BSR and Local Authorities as appropriate to determine whether further action is necessary.

Local authorities, including Barnet Council, are responsible for keeping the housing conditions in their area under review with a view to identifying any action that may need to be taken by them. Local authorities have a longstanding duty where they are building owners to manage building safety and performance risks of all kinds in their buildings, and should continue to do so in a proportionate, risk-based, and evidence-based manner.

Local authorities are also responsible for managing their own budgets and delivering on their responsibilities. This includes their duty as building owners to assess their buildings and keep them safe, and to take any enforcement action they deem necessary.