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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many EWS1 qualified fire assessors have (a) received their training and (b) been deployed in each month since January 2021.

In November, we announced nearly £700,000 to train up to 2,000 more assessors, which should speed up the valuation process for homeowners in cases where an EWS1 form is required. This training is being delivered by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). This training commenced in January, and there are now around 880 candidates enrolled on the course. Following successful completion, they will be able to carry out EWS1 assessments.