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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential dangers of relaxing regulations on combustible cavity trays in residential buildings.

On 1 June 2022 the Government published a response to a consultation following the review of the ban of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings. The consultation proposed a temporary 18-month relaxation of the ban as it relates to cavity trays. This followed from issues highlighted to us on the excessive cost, supply, installation and durability of product on the market at the time.

We consider it is appropriate, on balance, to allow for a short-term exemption for combustible cavity trays as the risk they pose remains low while providing temporary flexibility.

The consultation response is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-the-ban-on-the-use-of-combustible-materials-in-and-on-the-external-walls-of-buildings/outcome/government-response-review-of-the-ban-on-the-use-of-combustible-materials-in-and-on-the-external-walls-of-buildings.

We will continue to review the impact of the ban including this short-term exemption and to work with industry to better understand new products available on the market.