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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the EWS1: External Wall Fire Review industry-wide valuation process on the ability of individuals to (a) buy and sell homes and (b) re-mortgage in buildings above 18 metres with actual or potential combustible materials to external wall systems and balconies.

The EWS1 form, recently developed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and published on 16 December, should enable industry to manage valuations for both the selling and re-mortgaging of properties in multi-occupancy buildings 18 metres and over. Government is aware that the form is now being used across industry as part of the valuation process.