Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his statement of 20 January 2020 on Building Safety, Official Report, column 23, if he will publish the names of the 43 private residential tower block owners who according to the government's latest Building Safety Programme data release have not put a plan in place to remove unsafe ACM cladding by February 2020.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Where building owners are failing to make acceptable progress, those responsible should expect further action to be taken – including naming and shaming and enforcement.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department is collecting on the cost of interim fire safety measures in high rise buildings being borne by (a) leaseholders, (b) councils and (c) housing associations; and if he will publish that data.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
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 5 February 2020 to Question 10387 on Buildings: Insulation, whether his Department is collecting information on buildings below 18 metres in height with unsafe ACM cladding system.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the external wall systems for residential buildings below 18 metres in height is not currently being collected by the Department while the data collection on external wall systems for residential buildings 18 metres or over in height is being undertaken. It is important to gain accurate information on these higher risk buildings first. We will consider further collections in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government's consolidated advice on building safety, published 20 January 2020, what estimate he has made of the number of residential buildings which (a) require an EWS1 form and (b) have been issued a completed EWS1 form.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The EWS1 form is a form produced and owned by industry (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, UK Finance and the Building Societies Association) to assist in the valuation of high rise residential buildings for mortgage purposes. Any requirement to use it is a lender decision. Industry is monitoring its use.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what correspondence he has sent to owners of buildings with ACM cladding where remediation had not started by the start of February 2020; and if he will publish that correspondence.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Secretary of State has written to all building owners where the remediation of unsafe ACM cladding is not complete, pressing for progress. For the safety of residents in the buildings concerned, we are unable to publish correspondence as this could identify individual buildings.
The Department has regular engagement with a named contact from each building to ensure progress with remediation is being made. Where building owners are failing to make acceptable progress, those responsible should expect further action to be taken – including naming and shaming and enforcement.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 8 October 2019 to Question 290851 on Buildings: Insulation, for what reasons the Government has not yet published the results of the analysis of bespoke non-ACM tests.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The results of this research will be published in the Spring. This is to allow for further tests on additional cladding materials including timber cladding and Class D High Pressure Laminates of various thicknesses and manufacturers. So far, the results show that none of the materials tested present a significant fire hazard like that of Aluminium Composite Material with unmodified polyethylene core and other metal composites. If any of the additional tests suggest an immediate public safety concern, the Government will consult the Independent Expert Advisory Panel urgently, consider appropriate action, and inform the House and public accordingly.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to figure five in his Department's publication entitled Data update 30, Building Safety Programme: monthly data release, November 2019, how many and which of the 74 private residential buildings had remediation work funded by the (a) developer and (b) freeholder.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Out of the 74 private residential buildings which are being funded by the building owner, 64 are by the developer and 10 by the freeholder.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
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 7 January 2020 to Question 120 on High Rise Flats: Insulation, how many local authorities have provided (a) fully complete data, (b) partially complete data and (c) no data on high rise residential buildings in their area.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department has commenced a data collection exercise which will enable us to build a picture of external wall systems in use on high rise residential buildings. The exercise will collect data on residential buildings 18 metres and over covering private and social buildings, student accommodation and hotels in England. We will publish appropriate summary information from the data collection in our monthly Building Safety Programme data release in due course. Local authorities and housing associations are working to complete the collection by the end of March 2020.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many (a) council owned and (b) housing association buildings have received funding from the Government’s £400 million social sector ACM cladding remediation fund; and how many of those buildings have had such cladding replaced.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
Asked by: Sarah Jones (Labour - Croydon Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the expert advisory panel on building safety on revising Advice Note 14 following the increase in unsalable properties in tower blocks.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.