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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which external bodies his Department has consulted on the safety of cladding and external wall insulation systems in the last 12 months.

An official met with the National House Building Council in July 2016 to discuss an NHBC guidance note on the “acceptability of common wall constructions containing combustible materials in high rise buildings”.

The Department is now working closely with the expert panel set up in response to the Grenfell Tower fire. These discussions form the basis of two notes, published on 30 June and 6 July, which set out the steps being taken to provide advice to landlords on the safety of cladding and external wall insulation systems when used as part of a wider building external wall system. The notes can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing and https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expert-panel-recommends-further-tests-on-cladding-and-insulation