Cladding Remediation
Baroness Wheatcroft Excerpts(5 days ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for raising that issue, and to Barking and Dagenham Council, which acted very quickly to support the residents. A great deal of action is being taken on building owners who are not progressing remediation works, getting them to do so as quickly as possible. The enforcement action is strengthened by funding for local authorities, as I said earlier.
We all know that one of the great failings in the Grenfell situation was the failure to take residents’ voices seriously enough. We are clear that all projects should comply with the guidance in the code, and we will take action where needed if there is a failure to comply with the resident voice. The code is not currently legally binding; however, it does include references to legislation and has been developed in accordance with guidance and requirements. We will keep the status of that code under review, but there is redress for residents should they need to seek it.
Baroness Wheatcroft (CB)
My Lords, guidance note 9980 is being used as an excuse by developers. It enables them to look at the safety of buildings with dangerous cladding on a holistic basis, so that they can claim that if the fire escapes are okay, they do not need to remediate. Can the Minister commit to having a look at that guidance note? I declare an interest as a part-owner of a building with cladding issues.
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for raising that point. I will have another look at it, but that guidance is very clear. They are industry-accepted standards, so they should be adhered to.
Housing: Modern Methods of Construction
Baroness Wheatcroft Excerpts(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Wheatcroft (CB)
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, for his introduction to the debate, and the Committee on the Built Environment for its hard work on this important issue. Clearly, MMC is the way ahead for building, and it has been for a long time. Given the climate in this country, apart from anything else, getting as much done as possible under the cover of a factory makes sense. But, as we have heard today, there are many obstacles to making this the way in which so much building should be done.
The noble Lord, Lord Best, outlined three areas where the Government could move quite quickly to make a difference. I would add another area, and that is public confidence. There was always a potential problem over the image of prefabricated housing, but gradually that has changed. Not everybody had quite the romantic view of the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, but now prefab houses—HUF HAUS, in particular—have become much sought after. Now the biggest problem will be public confidence in modern methods of building, which will be at an all-time low after the publication of the latest Grenfell inquiry report.
I second the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, in looking for a replacement for the Building Research Establishment. The Grenfell report dismissed the BRE as
“marred by unprofessional conduct, inadequate practices, a lack of effective oversight, poor reporting and a lack of scientific rigour”.
Who is going to feel comfortable being asked to buy, or live in, a property that has been overseen by such an organisation? Can the Minister assure us today that the Building Research Establishment will no longer have a role in establishing what materials are safe and what properties are okay for people to live in?