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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of existing powers for local authorities to ensure combustible ACM cladding is removed from privately owned buildings; and what plans he has to ensure that local housing authorities are able to regulate effectively private buildings to ensure they meet fire safety standards.

The Government is determined that local authorities will have all the support they need to ensure that all high-rise buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding are made permanently safe for the people who live in them and that building owners will not evade their responsibilities. We have provided new statutory guidance to local authorities in form of an addendum to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) operating guidance that provides specific guidance on the assessment of high-rise residential buildings with unsafe cladding. This will help local authorities to make robust hazard assessments, which can then be used as the basis on which to take enforcement action. We are committed to ensuring that residents of high-rise buildings are safe and feel safe and we will consult shortly on how we propose to implement the recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in her Independent review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. In addition, we are reviewing the HHSRS as whole to assess how well it works in practice and ensure it is fit for purpose.