Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the long-term impact of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 on the provision of (a) healthcare, (b) transport and (c) other public services.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Strikes Act ensures there is a balance between the ability to strike and ensuring the public can continue to access essential services during strike action. Impact assessments have been published for the Act, as well as subsequent regulations, including for passenger rail, ambulance services, fire and rescue services and border security.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to help leaseholders with premium insurance rates for multi-occupancy residential buildings affected by (a) flammable cladding and (b) other material safety risks.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government continues to put extreme pressure into ensuring more fair and proportionate premiums for leaseholders living in multi-occupancy buildings with fire safety issues.
The FCA recommended that the insurance industry develop a risk-sharing facility for buildings with fire-safety issues. The Association of British Insurers’ Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility launched on 1 April 2024 in response to this recommendation. We are closely monitoring the Facility to understand the extent to which it improves outcomes for leaseholders.
On 31 December 2023, FCA changes came into force to give leaseholders rights under Fair Value rules and require the disclosure of key policy information. We welcome these changes and expect that they will help reduce the unfair costs facing leaseholders.
On 27 November 2023, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill was introduced into Parliament. The Bill bans insurance commissions being passed to freeholders and managing agents, replacing these with transparent handling fees. This will stop leaseholders being charged excessive and opaque commissions on top of their premiums.
The Government has also published a commitment by 14 insurance broker companies to cap their commissions to 15%, stop sharing commissions with managing agents, landlords and freeholders, and share policy information with leaseholders when requested. The pledge will benefit leaseholders in buildings over 11 metres (or four storeys) in height with identified fire safety defects, where these details have been made known to the insurance broker.
We will continue to monitor the impact these changes have had on leaseholder premiums, and will remain engaged with industry regarding whether any further steps may be required.
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, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that when a building owner enters administration, qualifying leaseholders remain protected from non-cladding remediation costs under the Building Safety Act.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The costs of remediation will only fall on leaseholders in the event some or all of the leaseholders choose to buy the freehold collectively and take over the rights and responsibilities of being the freeholder. Otherwise, the responsibilities will remain with the freeholder or, following the conclusion of any insolvency proceedings, with the party who acquires the freehold following termination of the insolvency. In which case, the leaseholder protections will apply.
As a result, qualifying leaseholders under the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022 will remain protected in law from the costs of non-cladding historical safety defects being passed on to them through the service charge (under the terms of the protections).
Should a building owner become insolvent and enter administration, interested parties including leaseholders can also potentially look to pursue a previous freeholder, developer and any associated company or person for remediation costs through a Remediation Contribution Order and also have the potential to pursue developers, contractors or manufacturers where they are liable for defects which meant one or more dwellings in the building was not fit for habitation when the relevant works were completed.
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, with reference to his Department's quarterly release of EWS1 (or equivalent) lender data on mortgage valuations for flats, published on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the fact that one in six EWS1 requests for mortgage valuations from October to December 2023 were for low rise buildings (1-4 storeys).
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The EWS1 form is not a Government process, and we do not support its use in the mortgage process.
To aid transparency, the department does provide data during the process so that people can see how the use of EWS1 forms has changed over time.
We continue to press the industry to accept other forms of assurance other than EWS1s, such as a comprehensive fire risk assessment including the external wall systems, which building owners are mandated to carry out, under the Fire Safety Act 2021.
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, with reference to the research entitled EWS1 or equivalent lender data on mortgage valuations for flats: October 2023 to December 2023, published by his Department on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the proportion of mortgage valuations on high rise flats that required an EWS1 form or equivalent in 2023.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The EWS1 form is not a Government process, and we do not support its use in the mortgage process.
To aid transparency, the department does provide data during the process so that people can see how the use of EWS1 forms has changed over time.
We continue to press the industry to accept other forms of assurance other than EWS1s, such as a comprehensive fire risk assessment including the external wall systems, which building owners are mandated to carry out, under the Fire Safety Act 2021.
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, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reallocating any underspend from the (a) Waking Watch Relief Fund and (b) Waking Watch Replacement Funds to support (i) sprinkler installation and (ii) other relevant steps where professional risk assessments deem them to be essential to mitigate life safety risks.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The department regularly engages with all fund applicants, local and regional authorities, where they are responsible for administering awarded grant funding, and local Fire and Rescue Services following a successful application to the fund, to drive pace on the installation of fire alarms and the subsequent standing down of a waking watch.
Over £80 million has been made available to applications to install alarms. The schemes have operated on a first come first served basis, and all successful applications have been awarded grant funding.
Of the 25 residential buildings that have received funding under the Waking Watch Relief Fund that are yet to install alarms, all of these are being administered by Greater Manchester Combined Authority and they have the lead responsibility for resolving these issues. On 17 of these 25, we have been advised by Greater Manchester Combined Authority that installations have been completed but we are awaiting further assurance before we can formally update the application status. For a further seven, we are waiting updates of the exact status despite departmental officials seeking an update. On the final case, we are working alongside the Authority to resolve a specific situation.
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, with reference to the Building Safety Remediation data published by his Department on 22 February 2024, whether he has taken steps in relation to the 25 residential buildings that received Government funding under the (a) Waking Watch Relief Fund in 2021 and (b) Waking Watch Replacement Fund in 2022 that have not yet installed alarm systems.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The department regularly engages with all fund applicants, local and regional authorities, where they are responsible for administering awarded grant funding, and local Fire and Rescue Services following a successful application to the fund, to drive pace on the installation of fire alarms and the subsequent standing down of a waking watch.
Over £80 million has been made available to applications to install alarms. The schemes have operated on a first come first served basis, and all successful applications have been awarded grant funding.
Of the 25 residential buildings that have received funding under the Waking Watch Relief Fund that are yet to install alarms, all of these are being administered by Greater Manchester Combined Authority and they have the lead responsibility for resolving these issues. On 17 of these 25, we have been advised by Greater Manchester Combined Authority that installations have been completed but we are awaiting further assurance before we can formally update the application status. For a further seven, we are waiting updates of the exact status despite departmental officials seeking an update. On the final case, we are working alongside the Authority to resolve a specific situation.
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, how much and what proportion of funding is un-allocated from the (a) the Waking Watch Relief Fund 2021, (b) Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2022 and (c) Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023, as of 12 April 2024.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The department regularly engages with all fund applicants, local and regional authorities, where they are responsible for administering awarded grant funding, and local Fire and Rescue Services following a successful application to the fund, to drive pace on the installation of fire alarms and the subsequent standing down of a waking watch.
Over £80 million has been made available to applications to install alarms. The schemes have operated on a first come first served basis, and all successful applications have been awarded grant funding.
Of the 25 residential buildings that have received funding under the Waking Watch Relief Fund that are yet to install alarms, all of these are being administered by Greater Manchester Combined Authority and they have the lead responsibility for resolving these issues. On 17 of these 25, we have been advised by Greater Manchester Combined Authority that installations have been completed but we are awaiting further assurance before we can formally update the application status. For a further seven, we are waiting updates of the exact status despite departmental officials seeking an update. On the final case, we are working alongside the Authority to resolve a specific situation.
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, what information his Department holds on the percentage change in the average selling price of properties since 14 June 2017 of (a) flats affected by cladding and building safety defects and (b) flats not affected by cladding and building safety defects.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
As of 18 December 2023, nine major mortgage lenders have signed a joined statement confirming they will lend on properties in buildings before they have been remediated. We will continue working with industry to monitor these changes and hold lenders to their commitments.
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, what criteria his Department plans to use to assess the effectiveness of the Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility; and over what timeframe he plans to use these criteria.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
I refer the Hon Gentleman to the answer given to Question UIN 19172 on 22 March 2024.