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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether there is any funding pending to the London Borough of Southwark for the retrofitting of sprinklers in tower blocks.

As we have said, we will consider the removal of financial restrictions for local authorities where these stand in the way of essential fire safety work being done, and we would welcome a discussion with London Borough of Southwark if they feel financial flexibilities are needed to carry out essential fire safety work in order to make their buildings safe.

It is down to the local authority to determine what measures are essential. Building owners are responsible for funding fire safety measures in their buildings. If a local authority building owner considers a building to be unsafe, they will need to determine what measures are essential to make a building safe, based on expert advice and taking into account any recommendations or advice from the local fire and rescue service.