Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraphs 58 to 60 of the the Housing Communities and Local Government Committee's 2nd Report of the 2019-2021 session on Cladding: Progress of remediation, published on 12 June 2020, HC 172, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using Compulsory Purchase Order powers to take direct ownership of the freehold of any building where the owner is failing to undertake remedial works in a timely way.

We are committed to ensuring that buildings with defective cladding are remediated as quickly as possible. As set out in our Remediation Acceleration Plan on 2 December 2024, the department is pursuing a wide range of measures to progress remediation, including funding the resourcing of building safety teams in local authorities and providing them with access to specialised teams such as the Joint Inspection Team.

We do not believe that a widespread use of Compulsory Purchase Orders would be an appropriate or proportionate response. Many building owners and developers are taking their responsibilities seriously to remediate historical fire safety defects at their property and remediation has completed in over a third (39%) of all 2,943 identified 18m+ buildings and started (or completed) in over a half (56%) of identified 18m+ buildings. Furthermore, by the end of October 2024 regulators have increased their inspections and use of enforcement notices by 95% and 88%, respectively, compared to prior to the department funding of £14 million in November 2022. The department’s support to local authorities has led to action involving 523 high rise or mid-rise buildings as of 27 January 2025.