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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Minister for Housing's oral contribution of 20 April 2022, Official Report, columns 183-4, if he will consider Fleming House for funding under the Building Safety Fund on an exceptional basis, despite its being under 11 metres tall.

The owner of any residential building should make sure that their building is safe in line with legal requirements. Remediation or mitigation works should be appropriate and proportionate. Low-rise buildings like Fleming House are less likely than high-rise buildings to require costly remediation to make them safe and it follows that risk assessments based on PAS 9980 principles in low-rise buildings are more likely to find that lower-cost mitigation is more appropriate and proportionate than higher-cost remediation.

The Department is therefore examining cases that have been brought to our attention in which it is proposed to carry out costly remediation works in buildings which are under 11 metres in height, with a view to challenging those who insist on transferring those costs to leaseholders if appropriate. We are aware of the Fleming House case and others like it, and will take it into account in deciding how to proceed.