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 Written Statement on 29 November 2018 on Grenfell update, HCWS1126, how much money his Department has allocated to support local authorities in undertaking emergency remedial work to remediate unsafe aluminium composite material cladding.

The Government is providing funding so that local authorities and housing associations can focus their efforts on making their buildings safe without impacting negatively on other services, improvements to housing quality or new supply.

We have committed to funding fully the removal and replacement of dangerous Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding on residential social housing buildings over 18 metres owned by councils and housing associations, with costs estimated at £400 million. We have so far allocated £248 million to replace cladding on 135 buildings.

Where, as part of the enforcement action, local authorities take emergency action themselves to remediate high rise private sector residential building with unsafe ACM cladding then the Housing Act 2004 allows local authorities to recover reasonably incurred expenses, with interest.

The Government is committed to supporting local authorities to ensure that such private-sector buildings are remediated, including financial support to take emergency remedial action if that is necessary. Local authorities finding themselves in this position should approach my Department to discuss what support may be needed.