Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help local authorities scruitnise the work of property developers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Building control assure compliance with the building regulations and have powers to intervene where it is found that buildings are in breach of the Building Regulations. It is an important function for local authorities, protecting the health and safety of residents and enabling economic activity.
We have invested £16.5 million to support capacity building in local authority building control teams and continue to encourage authorities to invest in this service.
The Building Safety Regulator is implementing Operational Standards Rules, which define minimum performance standards that building control bodies must meet and will improve outcomes across the sector.
The Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 Report recommended the appointment of a panel to consider delivery models and commercial interest in building control. We are considering the recommendations and will respond shortly.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to improve the capacity of local authorities to rebuild public buildings affected by arson.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government understands the impact that deliberate fire setting has on people and the communities in which they live and work.
The Local Government Finance Settlement available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
Councils can also finance capital expenditure from their revenue budgets, reserves or capital receipts to meet rebuilding and repair costs.