Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 29 June (HL6045), whether residents in buildings that have failed cladding tests in relation to aluminium composite material cladding are notified of that failure.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Building safety is the responsibility of the building owner. Where a building is found to have unsafe ACM cladding, the building owner should inform all leaseholders and residents of this. Building owners should also inform leaseholders and residents of the nature of the remedial works they intend to carry out, and provide regular updates on progress.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to protect those residents in buildings with unsafe aluminium composite material cladding; and how such residents are notified of those measures.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government has worked closely with local authorities and Fire and Rescue Services to ensure that interim safety measures, where needed, are in place in all buildings until the cladding is replaced. The Responsible Person for the building, who may be building owner or managing agent, should inform residents of these measures.
Working with the Home Office, the Local Government Association and the National Fire Chiefs Council, government has established a Protection Board to provide greater assurance to central government of Fire and Rescue Service protection activity. This work included ensuring that the interim measures in place in ACM-clad high-rise residential buildings are well-maintained and providing assurance that fire safety risks are being managed effectively.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the celebration of Windrush Day on 22 June.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
I would like to reflect on the success of Windrush Day, which was marked on June 22. This was the second annual National Windrush Day, and the third year that Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has supported celebrations since the 70th anniversary. I would like to thank my Noble friend for his role in initiating these earlier celebrations.
The day was well recognised in national and international media, with hundreds of broadcast features, including a piece on BBC’s The One Show and CNN broadcasting live from Brixton. There were tens of thousands of tweets, instagram and facebook posts shared to celebrate the Windrush Generation and their descendants. This was illustrative of the way in which communities and individuals led the way in marking the day.Supportive messages were delivered by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, His Excellency the Jamaican High Commissioner and the Most Reverend Primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In the midst of challenging circumstances, most of the 49 organisations which received funding from MHCLG’s Windrush Day Grant have demonstrated admirable willingness, aptitude and innovation to deliver their events through online or virtual means. Celebrations were mostly digital, but there were still plenty of them taking place across the country. From Bristol to Birmingham and Leicester to Leeds, grant recipients hosted online exhibitions, radio documentaries and educational workshops and lectures over zoom.
I was pleased to take part in the day myself by being hosted on a tour of Reading Museum's online exhibition The Enigma of Arrival . The exhibition was part-funded by MHCLG's Windrush Day Grant and was developed in partnership with the University of the West Indies as well as the Barbados Museum and Historical Society and members of the town's Caribbean community. I was particularly moved by images of men working at the town's Huntley and Palmers Biscuit factory and took a moment to reflect upon the truly vast scope of the Windrush Generation's contribution to all aspects of our national life in the aftermath of the Second World War.
I would finally like to reiterate my gratitude to the Windrush Day Advisory Panel, originally convened by my Noble friend, in supporting the funding's delivery and helping ensure that the day is marked appropriately year-on-year.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many buildings above 18 metres in height still have aluminium composite material cladding.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Department publishes data on the number of high-rise residential and publicly owned buildings in England with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet building regulations. The latest data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-may-2020. This shows that there are 300 high-rise residential and publicly owned buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations yet to be remediated in England. Of these, 140 buildings have started remediation, including 54 buildings that have had their ACM cladding systems removed.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the details of the owners of buildings above 18 metres in height with aluminium composite material cladding have been disclosed.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Department has a policy of not publicly disclosing information which could reveal the identity of buildings which have failed or are inferred to have failed cladding tests. This is because there are concerns that this information could be used by those with malicious intent to attack or otherwise compromise the safety of these buildings and their residents.
However, in February 2020, the Department published a list of corporate entities that have indicated that they are taking on the responsibility for the remediation of unsafe ACM cladding, but where at least one of their buildings does not yet have a plan in place. This can be (attached) found here , and the list will be updated periodically. Entities are excluded from this list if it would lead to the identification of a specific building with unsafe ACM cladding .
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing a task force to deal with specific challenges experienced by Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We have been in close contact with Gypsy and Traveller Voluntary and Community Sector organisations and are doing everything we can to support them through the pandemic.
We have provided £3.2 billion to local authorities to help them respond to the immediate impact of COVID-19. It is for local authorities to determine how best to support vulnerable groups, in line with their public health responsibilities. To enable compliance with COVID-19 public health guidance, access to basic amenities, including water, sanitation and waste disposal facilities is essential.
On 11 April I wrote to all local authority chief executives to highlight that some Gypsies and Travellers may need specific support, including access to basic services such as water, sanitation and waste disposal (attached): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-mitigating-impacts-on-gypsy-and-traveller-communities.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with members of the Gypsy and Traveller community concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government is determined to ensure everyone gets the support they need to look after themselves and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak and are enabled to take the necessary measures to reduce the spread of the virus. We are holding regular discussions with representatives from Gypsy and Traveller communities to understand the issues they are facing, including what guidance and support is needed locally.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of faith communities concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Faith leaders and communities have a critical role to play during the Covid-19 response and we recognise their contribution, as well as the significant importance of respecting different faith groups, religious practices and personal preference. As the Department responsible for Faith, MHCLG has played a facilitative role in ensuring Government understands the needs of faith communities and the challenges they are facing due to the pandemic. We have consulted widely with key faith and belief stakeholders through ministerial and official level engagement.
We are committed to ensuring faith and belief communities have access to the latest public health advice to support them to adapt their practices to meet the governments Covid-19 guidance. We will continue to engage with national and local faith and belief communities to ensure that any needs arising are understood.
We worked closely with faith and belief groups throughout the passage of the Coronavirus Act to ensure that the religious practices of the deceased are taken into account by local authorities as far as possible. Local authorities are now under an obligation to have regard to the deceased’s wishes, religion and belief, as to their final committal, where known, in accordance with Section 58 and Schedule 28 to the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all Gypsies, Roma and Travellers have access to basic utilities, water and sanitation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Local authorities have a responsibility to look after vulnerable groups in their area, including Gypsy and Traveller communities. That is why I wrote to local authority Chief Executives on 11 April highlighting the need to mitigate potential impacts of COVID-19 amongst Gypsy and Traveller communities. In this letter, I noted that some Gypsies and Travellers may need assistance in accessing basic facilities such as water, sanitation and waste disposal, to enable them to adhere to public health guidelines around self-isolation and social distancing.
The Government is determined to ensure everyone gets the support they need to look after themselves and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak and are enabled to take the necessary measures to reduce the spread of the virus. We are holding regular discussions with representatives from Gypsy and Traveller communities to understand the issues they are facing, and to understand what guidance and support is needed, including for local authorities. On 18 April, the Local Government Secretary announced that councils across England will receive a further £1.6 billion to help them to deal with the immediate impacts of coronavirus. This takes the total funding to support councils to respond to the pandemic to over £3.2 billion.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is timely, accessible advice available to religious communities concerning rules relating to (1) funeral services, (2) burials, and (3) cremations, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The government issued guidance on closure of business and venues on 23 March: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance. This sets out that funerals may continue to take place in places of worship and crematoria. On 31 March, Public Health England (PHE) published further guidance to ensure funerals are conducted safely, consistent with social distancing principles: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-advice-for-safe-funerals-after-discussions-with-faith-leaders. Faith leaders were consulted and worked with PHE to ensure that communities, the funeral industry and the NHS are protected.
Government is working with partners, including leaders and members of faith and belief communities, to communicate relevant guidance and to understand the issues faith communities are facing at this difficult time. We continue to value the input of our faith and belief communities.