Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraphs 58 to 60 of the the Housing Communities and Local Government Committee's 2nd Report of the 2019-2021 session on Cladding: Progress of remediation, published on 12 June 2020, HC 172, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using Compulsory Purchase Order powers to take direct ownership of the freehold of any building where the owner is failing to undertake remedial works in a timely way.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to ensuring that buildings with defective cladding are remediated as quickly as possible. As set out in our Remediation Acceleration Plan on 2 December 2024, the department is pursuing a wide range of measures to progress remediation, including funding the resourcing of building safety teams in local authorities and providing them with access to specialised teams such as the Joint Inspection Team.
We do not believe that a widespread use of Compulsory Purchase Orders would be an appropriate or proportionate response. Many building owners and developers are taking their responsibilities seriously to remediate historical fire safety defects at their property and remediation has completed in over a third (39%) of all 2,943 identified 18m+ buildings and started (or completed) in over a half (56%) of identified 18m+ buildings. Furthermore, by the end of October 2024 regulators have increased their inspections and use of enforcement notices by 95% and 88%, respectively, compared to prior to the department funding of £14 million in November 2022. The department’s support to local authorities has led to action involving 523 high rise or mid-rise buildings as of 27 January 2025.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of buildings under the (a) ACM programme, (b) Building Safety Fund, (c) Cladding Safety Scheme, (d) Developer remediation contract and (e) social housing remediation programme had a building assessment carried out by Tri Fire.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We publish a monthly Building Safety Remediation data release, covering the ACM programme, Building Safety Fund, Cladding Safety Scheme, Developer Remediation Contract and the social housing remediation programme at Building Safety Remediation - GOV.UK. However, we do not publish data on individual assessors or assessments commissioned by applicants for funding, registered providers of social housing or developers as part of these programmes. Similarly, we do not publish other data that risks identifying individual buildings undergoing remediation.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of trends in the cost of pet insurance in the last (a) 12 and (b) 24 months.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Pet insurance providers are private businesses and are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are therefore not able to provide further information.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to Q118 of the evidence given by her Department's Permanent Secretary to the Public Accounts Committee on 3 February 2025, HC 362, whether the cladding remediation funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 was (a) new or (b) rephased existing funding.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The cladding remediation funding announced in the Autumn Budget relates to the allocation required over the spending review period from the Government’s total agreed £5.1 billion contribution and new investment to speed up remediation of social housing.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has had assurances from social housing providers that they are complying with the guidance that requests from shared owners to sub-let should be accepted if their property is affected by building safety issues.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The relevant government guidance is clear: for properties affected by building safety issues, requests from shared owners to sub-let should always be accepted by registered providers of social housing in England (though where required, the shared owner may also need permission from the mortgage lender and/or the building’s freeholder). This is an important way in which to support shared owners to manage the effects of building safety issues.
For registered providers, compliance with this guidance is a condition of receiving grant funding through the Affordable Homes Programme. Moreover, the government has made clear its expectation that this guidance should apply to all shared owners, regardless of how their home has been delivered.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which freeholders have signed up to the Remediation Acceleration Plan.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is no requirement for freeholders to sign up to the Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP). The plan, published on 2 December 2024, sets out the steps this government will take to increase the pace of building remediation, while better protecting residents and leaseholders.
As set out in the RAP, a new joint plan with developers sets out their commitment to achieve ambitious stretch targets to start or complete remedial works on all their unsafe buildings by July 2027. At least 38 developers have signed up to the joint plan, covering more than 95% of buildings that developers will directly remediate.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for the fire and rescue service.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances.
The Home Office will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of dentistry in (a) Halton, (b) Cheshire West and (c) Chester in the last (i) three months, (ii) six months, (ii) 12 months and (iv) two years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324
Data for adults is measured for 24 months, and data for children is measured for 12 months, as this is the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended timeframe in which adults and children should be seen by a dentist. This data is not held for three- and six-month intervals.
In the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB), which includes Halton, Cheshire West and Chester, 46% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the 24 months to June 2024, compared to 40% in England.
Furthermore, 58% of children in the ICB were seen by an NHS dentist in the 12 months to June 2023, compared to 53% in England. 62% of children in the ICB were seen by an NHS dentist in the 12 months to June 2024, compared to 56% in England.
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.