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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will undertake an assessment of fire safety in blocks of student accommodation owned by private providers.

The Government’s comprehensive programme to oversee Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding remediation included student accommodation. We have pushed building owners hard to remediate unsafe buildings. We have worked closely with local authorities and Fire and Rescue Services to ensure that interim safety measures are in place in all buildings until the cladding is replaced.

The Government has made clear that building safety is the responsibility of the building owner. We have issued advice (updated in December 2018) to building owners on non-ACM external wall systems and managing the safety of buildings of all heights. The Secretary of State for Education also wrote to all university vice chancellors on 18 November 2019, asking that they – and their commercial partners – review fire safety across all university buildings used by students, including student accommodation, to ensure compliance with building regulations.