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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 15 Nov 2022
Housing Targets: Planning System

"I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing forward the debate. My constituency neighbours his, and we in Rochester and Strood have seen the stresses and strains on local services and the planning department in order to meet unrealistic housing targets, which are particularly imposed on the south-east, where we are …..."
Kelly Tolhurst - View Speech

View all Kelly Tolhurst (Con - Rochester and Strood) contributions to the debate on: Housing Targets: Planning System
Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 15 Nov 2022
Housing Targets: Planning System

"I appreciate what the Minister is setting out. In my constituency, because of the drive to meet unrealistic housing targets, we are having to close a successful working port to make room for flats. Companies such as ArcelorMittal and clean energy generation companies are being displaced to facilitate this drive …..."
Kelly Tolhurst - View Speech

View all Kelly Tolhurst (Con - Rochester and Strood) contributions to the debate on: Housing Targets: Planning System
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 08 Jun 2022
Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

"On the issue of constraints, can my right hon. Friend give us some further detail about whether the local authority could argue for constraints on the basis of economic areas, for example? Could that be an opportunity to save my dockyard from closure, following a proposal for flats to meet …..."
Kelly Tolhurst - View Speech

View all Kelly Tolhurst (Con - Rochester and Strood) contributions to the debate on: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 08 Jun 2022
Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

"I take exception to what the hon. Lady said. How dare she suggest that Government Members are not standing up for their communities when we are quite obviously aggrieved with the allegation that she has just made against a fellow colleague? So yes, we do have a right to chunter …..."
Kelly Tolhurst - View Speech

View all Kelly Tolhurst (Con - Rochester and Strood) contributions to the debate on: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 08 Jun 2022
Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

"Will the hon. Lady give way?..."
Kelly Tolhurst - View Speech

View all Kelly Tolhurst (Con - Rochester and Strood) contributions to the debate on: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 16 May 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"2. What steps he is taking to ensure that leaseholders do not have to pay for remediation work in buildings where the developer is at fault. ..."
Kelly Tolhurst - View Speech

View all Kelly Tolhurst (Con - Rochester and Strood) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 16 May 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"Leaseholders in my constituency have been pleased with the progress that has been made through the Building Safety Act. However, it is disappointing that some developers are yet to sign up to the building safety pledge. Could my right hon. Friend outline what support is in place for leaseholders in …..."
Kelly Tolhurst - View Speech

View all Kelly Tolhurst (Con - Rochester and Strood) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Written Question
Buildings: Safety
Friday 25th February 2022

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the responsibilities of the National House Building Council for UK building safety.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 122751 on 21 February 2022.

Written Question
Buildings: Safety
Friday 25th February 2022

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans the Government has to improve the quality of building safety checks nationally.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The Building Safety Bill currently in the House of Lords marks the next step in the Government’s ongoing reforms to make sure everyone’s home is a place of safety. The Bill is part of a package of legislative changes to move things forward and make sure the problems Dame Judith Hackitt identified with the current building and fire safety regime are rectified. The package includes the measures in the Fire Safety Act 2021 and changes to the Fire Safety Order alongside the current Building Safety Bill.

The new regime established through the Building Safety Bill will:

  • Establish a national Building Safety Regulator at the heart of our reformed building regulations and fire safety system. The Regulator will make buildings safer by enforcing a stringent new regulatory regime for high-rise residential and other in scope buildings, overseeing the safety and performance of all buildings, and increasing the competence of those working across the built environment.
  • require those responsible for buildings when they are occupied to actively manage building risks, evidencing this through a new ‘safety case’ regime. This will make sure that proportionate steps are taken to deal with building risks in high-rise buildings through prevention, control, mitigation and ongoing management.
  • It will also give a greater voice to residents of tall buildings to air their concerns and toughen sanctions against those who threaten their safety.

The Department has also taken steps to ensure that industry takes a proportionate approach in the assessment of the external walls of buildings. The government has supported the development of guidance which aims to provide risk proportionate guidance to competent assessors. This guidance (PAS 9980) provides new advice on how to assess the risk of fire via an external wall of an existing multi-storey, multi-occupied residential building. It sets out steps that can be taken to identify and assess risk factors as well as mitigation measures that might improve the risk rating of a building via a holistic and fact-based assessment of a building’s construction.

Written Question
Building Regulations
Monday 21st February 2022

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the National House Building Council’s role in overseeing building regulations.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Under the current system, Approved Inspectors such as NHBC are independently monitored and regulated by CICAIR Ltd to carry out building control work in England (and Wales). CICAIR Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the approval process it operates provides a route to registration as an Approved Inspector.

The Building Safety Regulator will be responsible for oversight of the competence and performance of building control professionals and the building control bodies in which they work, taking a wider view of the professionalism and culture that needs to support building safety in all classes of work, not just in-scope buildings. To do this, we are introducing a system of oversight of the performance of building control bodies (Local Authorities and Registered Building Control Approvers), and a system of individual registration based on competence and adherence to a code of conduct, all overseen by the Building Safety Regulator.