Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question number 268957 on High Rise Flats: Insulation, what non-ACM cladding is being tested; when the results will be known; and how many buildings are estimated to be affected.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
I refer the Hon Member to the written ministerial statement HCWS1533 made on 1 May 2019 (https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-05-01/debates/19050113000008/BuildingSafetyCombustibleMaterials ). We expect final results to be available over the Summer. The research findings will be published in due course. The Department does not currently formally collect data on non-Aluminium Composite Material (non-ACM) cladding systems.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the results of the recent fire tests on non-ACM cladding demonstrated; how many blocks those tests found to be affected; and when those blocks will be made safe in the same way as blocks affected by ACM cladding.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We expect the final results of Non-Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) testing to be available by the Summer. The research findings will be published in due course. The findings will help determine, in consultation with the Independent Expert Advisory Panel, if any additional action is necessary over and above the extant Advice Note, which can be found here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765761/Expert_Panel_advice_note_on_non-ACM.pdf
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department will publish its response to the consultation on unfair leasehold practices which concluded on 26 November 2018.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for leaseholders and freeholders and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. We will publish the Government's response to the technical consultation on Implementing reforms to the leasehold system in England shortly.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2019 to Question 239850, whether the figures on the number of complaints that were upheld includes those dealt with under the early resolution procedure.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The number of upheld complaints referred to in the response to Question UIN 239850 on 10 April includes those dealt with under the Housing Ombudsman Service’s early resolution procedure.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2018 to Question 161501, how many full-time equivalent (a) Adjudicators, (b) Dispute Resolution Advisors and (c) Dispute Resolution Managers were in post at the Housing Ombudsman Service on (i) 31 March 2011, (ii) 31 March 2012, (iii) 31 March 2013 and (iv) 31 March 2014.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Housing Ombudsman Service holds historical headcount data that would require further research and analysis at a disproportionate cost to provide the information requested.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2018 to Question 192956, how many applicants were interviewed for the post of Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing; and how many of those applicants were social housing tenants.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Three applicants have been interviewed for the post of Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing. Applicants were not asked as part of the application or interview process to confirm whether they were currently, or had ever been, social housing tenants.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the recruitment panel for the new Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing did not include a tenant of social housing.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The membership of the Assessment Panel advising the Minister for Housing on appointable candidates met the requirements of the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments and included a senior departmental official and an independent member. The Governance Code does not require Panels to include a representative of the sector to which the public body relates.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which consultancies were involved in the recruitment of the new Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing; and how were those companies chosen to undertake that work.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
No consultancies were involved in the recruitment of the new Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, where the post of Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing was advertised.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Along with all other public appointments, the role of Chair of the Regulator of the Social Housing was advertised on the Cabinet Office’s Government Public Appointment website. The post was also advertised on websites associated with the appointment of non-executive directors – specifically the Public Chairs Forum, NEDonBoard, Women on Boards and ConnectOnBoard – as well as the website of the Tenants and Residents of England Trust. The department, the Regulator of Social Housing and the Cabinet Office all published links to the advert on the Government Public Appointment website on their social media.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether, in the forthcoming social housing Green Paper, he will revise the definition of the serious detriment test used to determine compliance with the Homes Standard by the Regulator of Social Housing.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Social Housing Green Paper announced that the Government would conduct a review of social housing regulation, looking at how it can support a new, fairer deal for social housing residents. The green paper said that “we want to ensure the serious detriment bar does not prevent the Regulator from taking a more proactive approach, and if it does, then we will consider removing it.” The Government will publish its response to the Green Paper in due course.