Asked by: Emma Dent Coad (Labour - Kensington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for building safety of making the Association of Composite Door Manufacturers the governing body of the composite door industry with the stated aim of promoting the use of composite doors.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
MHCLG are working with the Association of Composite Door Manufacturers (ACDM) as industry representatives to raise standards through Industry-led action. No changes have been made to the status of ACDM by the Department. The Department understand any change to ACDM's stated purpose is a voluntary action being taken by its members.
Asked by: Emma Dent Coad (Labour - Kensington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether officials from his Department have met with representatives of the insurance industry on limiting liability exposure after the Grenfell Tower fire.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Officials from my department have had no meetings with the insurance industry to discuss limiting liability exposure.
Asked by: Emma Dent Coad (Labour - Kensington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many high-rise blocks owned by local authorities and housing associations will have their cladding removed between 1 November 2018 and 20 March 2019.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government will fully fund the removal and replacement of unsafe Aluminium Cladding Material (ACM) cladding systems on social residential buildings which are 18 metres and over and owned by councils and housing associations, with costs estimated at £400 million.
The Building Safety Programme releases monthly data on the identification and remediation status of high-rise residential buildings with unsafe ACM cladding systems. As at 31 October 2018, 28 have finished remediation, 87 have started remediation, and 40 have a remediation plan in place. The latest data release is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-end-october-2018.
The remediation of buildings with unsafe ACM cladding systems is a complex process. Remediation work involves addressing any issues with the exterior cladding system and broader fire safety systems for each building. All of this work takes time and varies considerably depending on the building structure, extent of cladding, and existing fire safety systems.
Asked by: Emma Dent Coad (Labour - Kensington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Answers of 27 June 2018 to Questions 155404 and 155405, when he will begin recruitment to the post of permanent Chair of the Board of the Regulator of Social Housing; and when he plans to place copies of the revised job description and person specification in the Library.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Recruitment for a permanent Chair of the Regulator of Social Housing will begin in the New Year. The job description and person specification will be publicly available once the recruitment launches.
Asked by: Emma Dent Coad (Labour - Kensington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the funding allocated to social housing providers to remove Grenfell-style cladding systems will also cover compensation to tenants who face increased heating costs as a result of the removal of that cladding.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is providing funding to ensure that social housing providers can prioritise the remediation of buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding without needing to divert resources from other housing programmes, including maintaining existing properties and new build programmes.
The application guidance sets out the costs covered by government funding. This is intended to cover costs associated with the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding systems (including insulation), such as access (e.g. scaffolding or mast climber), removal and disposal of existing cladding, replacement materials, labour and reasonable on-costs, and VAT on these costs where the building owner is not able to claim this back. The fund is not intended to cover revenue costs, including those associated with interim measures.
The Regulator of Social Housing requires that homes in the social housing sector meet the Decent Homes Standard, which includes having efficient heating and effective insulation. As social landlords have responsibility for the overall standards of their buildings, we would expect them to take action and engage with residents to ensure disruption is reduced whilst the works are completed as quickly and safely as possible. We would expect those who have concerns about their ability to do this to contact MHCLG or the Regulator of Social Housing.
Asked by: Emma Dent Coad (Labour - Kensington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of support for heating costs provided by local authorities and Housing Associations to social housing tenants while unsafe cladding systems are removed from their homes.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is providing funding to ensure that social housing providers can prioritise the remediation of buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding without needing to divert resources from other housing programmes, including maintaining existing properties and new build programmes.
The application guidance sets out the costs covered by government funding. This is intended to cover costs associated with the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding systems (including insulation), such as access (e.g. scaffolding or mast climber), removal and disposal of existing cladding, replacement materials, labour and reasonable on-costs, and VAT on these costs where the building owner is not able to claim this back. The fund is not intended to cover revenue costs, including those associated with interim measures.
The Regulator of Social Housing requires that homes in the social housing sector meet the Decent Homes Standard, which includes having efficient heating and effective insulation. As social landlords have responsibility for the overall standards of their buildings, we would expect them to take action and engage with residents to ensure disruption is reduced whilst the works are completed as quickly and safely as possible. We would expect those who have concerns about their ability to do this to contact MHCLG or the Regulator of Social Housing.