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 26 February 2019 to Question 224343 on Buildings: Insulation, for what reasons there has been a period of six months between the bespoke test methodology being approved by his Department on 22 August 2018 and the start of non-Aluminium Composite material cladding testing taking place in March 2019; and if he will make a statement.

Following the acceptance of the test methodology a new bespoke experimental frame as shown in figure 1 of the methodology had to be built, trialled and calibrated in the research facilities. In addition, some issues in acquiring the materials to be tested resulted in some unexpected delays in the testing program.

The calibration of the test apparatus is now being finalised and testing will be starting this month.