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Written Question
Buildings: Fire Prevention
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) costs and (b) merits of extending the statutory requirement for a Cladding External Wall System form to include all apartment block buildings below 11m in height.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Cladding External Wall System form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. RICS has issued guidance on the use and application of these forms, and a surveyor must justify any request for an EWS1 form.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 requires all multi-occupancy residential buildings, regardless of height, to have an up-to-date fire risk assessment that, where necessary, includes the external walls. A Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW) done to the PAS 9980 standard developed by the British Standards Institution is the appropriate way to assess that risk in the external wall system.


Written Question
Buildings: Fire Prevention
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of not extending the statutory requirement for a Cladding External Wall System form for properties in buildings below 11 meters on (a) property sales and (b) safety risk to residents.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Cladding External Wall System form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. RICS has issued guidance on the use and application of these forms, and a surveyor must justify any request for an EWS1 form.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 requires all multi-occupancy residential buildings, regardless of height, to have an up-to-date fire risk assessment that, where necessary, includes the external walls. A Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW) done to the PAS 9980 standard developed by the British Standards Institution is the appropriate way to assess that risk in the external wall system.


Written Question
Letting Agents: Regulation
Tuesday 28th November 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 26 October 2023 to Question 203866 on Letting Agents: Regulation, what his planned timescale is to respond to the recommendations from Lord Best's working group.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Government continues to work with industry on improving best practice across the property agent sector.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill announced in the King’s Speech will make it easier for leaseholders to scrutinise costs and challenge the services provided by both freeholders and property managing agents. The Bill will also make it easier for leaseholders to take on management of their buildings themselves so that they can directly appoint or replace agents.


Written Question
Letting Agents: Regulation
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on implementing the reforms in the Regulation of Property Agents: Working Group Report published 18 July 2019.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Government is considering the recommendations in the final report on the regulation of property agents from Lord Best's working group. We will continue to work with industry on improving best practice. Announcements will be set out in the usual way.


Written Question
Council Tax
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 22 July 2021 to Question 33338, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing alternative forms of council taxation.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Local Government Finance Settlement determines annually the amount by which local authorities can raise their council tax without a referendum. The Department undertakes a Public Sector Equalities Duty assessment to accompany each settlement. To ensure greater fairness in the system, the council tax system is mitigated by a range of reliefs and exemptions. Decisions on the level of council tax are a matter for individual local authorities.

There are no current plans to change the system, or to undertake a revaluation of domestic properties.


Written Question
Council Tax: Equality
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has undertaken an Equality Impact Assessment on the potential impact of council taxation on different households across England.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Local Government Finance Settlement determines annually the amount by which local authorities can raise their council tax without a referendum. The Department undertakes a Public Sector Equalities Duty assessment to accompany each settlement. To ensure greater fairness in the system, the council tax system is mitigated by a range of reliefs and exemptions. Decisions on the level of council tax are a matter for individual local authorities.

There are no current plans to change the system, or to undertake a revaluation of domestic properties.


Written Question
Council Tax: Valuation
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of updating the valuations upon which Council Tax bands are set.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Local Government Finance Settlement determines annually the amount by which local authorities can raise their council tax without a referendum. The Department undertakes a Public Sector Equalities Duty assessment to accompany each settlement. To ensure greater fairness in the system, the council tax system is mitigated by a range of reliefs and exemptions. Decisions on the level of council tax are a matter for individual local authorities.

There are no current plans to change the system, or to undertake a revaluation of domestic properties.


Written Question
Council Tax
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of council tax on households with high and low (a) incomes and (b) value properties.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Local Government Finance Settlement determines annually the amount by which local authorities can raise their council tax without a referendum. The Department undertakes a Public Sector Equalities Duty assessment to accompany each settlement. To ensure greater fairness in the system, the council tax system is mitigated by a range of reliefs and exemptions. Decisions on the level of council tax are a matter for individual local authorities.

There are no current plans to change the system, or to undertake a revaluation of domestic properties.


Written Question
Temporary Accommodation
Wednesday 19th July 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential correlation between temporary housing and low child mortality rates.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

We are aware of National Child Mortality Database research on housing conditions, poverty and potential correlations with Sudden and Unexpected Deaths of Infants. We cannot emphasise enough that every family and child should live in suitable, safe housing.

Local authorities must ensure temporary accommodation is suitable in relation to all members of a household.

We are pursuing a number of housing reforms which will increase quality and regulation across all housing stock, including temporary accommodation. This includes reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, The Social Housing Regulation Bill and Renters reform.


Written Question
Housing: Overcrowding
Wednesday 19th July 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of discounting children under the age of 1 when calculating overcrowding under the Housing Act 1985 on children's health.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The 2004 Housing Act places a duty on local authorities to take enforcement action if they identify an 'crowding and space' hazard at the most dangerous 'category 1' level, as assessed by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The HHSRS operates by evaluating the potential risk of harm to any actual or potential occupier from their living environment. For crowding and space hazards, this includes children under the age of one.