Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an estimate of the number of timber-frame homes in England that have similar UPVC cladding installed as the properties involved in the Moss Hall Grove fire in Barnet in June 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023. Department officials met with Barnet Council representatives on 10 April and will continue to discuss with them.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has received advice from relevant stakeholders on the potential risk of timber-frame constructions with UPVC cladding since the fire in Moss Hall Grove in Barnet in June 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023. Department officials met with Barnet Council representatives on 10 April and will continue to discuss with them.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2024 to Question 19180 on Armed Forces: Housing, when the (a) Minister for the Armed Forces and (b) Minister for Defence People and Families last had discussions with representatives of (i) VIVO, (ii) Amey and (iii) Pinnacle on the maintenance of service accommodation properties.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There is no formal record of any meeting between the Minister for Armed Forces and representatives from VIVO, Amey and Pinnacle on the maintenance of Service accommodation.
There is a formal record of an invitation for a meeting in January 2023 between the Minister for Defence People and Families and VIVO, Amey and Pinnacle on the maintenance of Service accommodation.
I have engaged with VIVO, Amey and Pinnacle representatives in summer 2023 regarding overdue Landlord Gas Safety Inspections and Electrical Insulation Condition Reports.
In addition to this, Defence Infrastructure Organisation officials are in daily contact with VIVO, Amey and Pinnacle regarding delivery and performance.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to support people in Wales with incorrectly installed cavity wall insulation.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
This is a devolved matter.
Asked by: Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of low-rise homes in England clad in flammable Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride panels, (2) emerging acute fire risks, as evidenced by the fire at Moss Hall Grove in the London Borough of Barnet, and (3) the funding of appropriate remedial action.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking, following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023. The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is aware and is keeping the situation under review, in line with their duty under the Building Safety Act to keep the safety and standards of all buildings under review.
The department will continue to liaise with the BSR and Local Authorities as appropriate to determine whether further action is necessary.
Local authorities, including Barnet Council, are responsible for keeping the housing conditions in their area under review with a view to identifying any action that may need to be taken by them. Local authorities have a longstanding duty where they are building owners to manage building safety and performance risks of all kinds in their buildings, and should continue to do so in a proportionate, risk-based, and evidence-based manner.
Local authorities are also responsible for managing their own budgets and delivering on their responsibilities. This includes their duty as building owners to assess their buildings and keep them safe, and to take any enforcement action they deem necessary.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to allow landlords of rented properties to claim (1) adding insulation where there was none before, and (2) upgrading a central heating boiler from an older, less efficient model, as expenses.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government continues to support both owner-occupier and private rented sector households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Landlords are therefore eligible to claim support to install low-carbon heating or energy efficiency upgrades in their properties under schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) 4.
The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing home insulation to low-income households who have have poorly insulated homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government considers energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty, contributing to the long-term reduction of energy bills as well as reducing carbon emissions in line with Net Zero. There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department's annual delivery target is for the number of households applying for the (a) Home Upgrade Grant, (b) Great British Insulation Scheme, (c) Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and (d) Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The current wave of Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 funding is expected to improve the energy performance of up to 25,000 homes. The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund estimates to upgrade up to 99,500 social homes. The Great British Insulation Scheme target is set in terms of annual bill savings, but it is estimated that it will support the installation of energy efficiency measures to around 300,000 homes.
The annual targets for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) depends on the grant levels at the time, as we can change them to respond to market conditions.
The Government recently announced further details regarding the £6 billion extension that will be allocated from 2025-2028. This will support an extra 500,000 homes, prioritising those who need it most.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to prevent insurers (a) refusing to quote on building insurance cover and (b) charging excessive increases in the premium due to a lack of remediation on buildings under 11 metres which have a B1 fire risk assessment rating.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government continues to actively encourage the insurance industry to take action where significantly inflated insurance costs are apparent. I regularly meet the sector, and its representatives, to press the case for an industry-led solution on this matter and I hope we will hear further, long-awaited news from the industry shortly on this matter. Specifically on buildings under 11m, it is generally accepted that life safety risk is proportional to the height of buildings. The risk to life from historical fire safety defects is lower in buildings under 11m, therefore building safety related remediation works are required in a very small number of buildings under 11m. Whilst individual premium rates are ultimately a matter for insurers, it follows that such rates should be proportionate to the risk.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many households they have helped with home insulation measures in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
From 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023 (latest available data), around 97,100 insulation measures were installed in domestic properties under the following schemes: Energy Company Obligation, Great British Insulation Scheme, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Green Homes Local Authority Delivery and Home Upgrade Grant. Under these schemes, some households may have had more than one type of insulation measure installed. Statistics for each of these schemes are published on the gov.uk website.