Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) fire risk appraisals and (b) EWS1 assessments carried out by an engineer who has been suspended by the Institution of Fire Engineers must be reassessed.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Robust auditing processes are in place to ensure that all Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEWs) for buildings in the Government’s remediation funding programmes meet appropriate standards before the associated funding application can progress. Where required, feedback is given to allow assessors to make appropriate changes to the FRAEW to address any deficiencies identified. Reassessments of appraisals are not therefore necessary.
EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement. Their use is a commercial decision by lenders and subject to their individual lending criteria. If residents have concerns about the fire safety of their building they should raise this with the building owner or person responsible for fire safety.
The Institution of Fire Engineers is an independent organisation following bespoke reporting and investigation processes. Following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry Report, the Department is reviewing the findings and recommendations in relation to the fire engineering sector.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that more homes are built to accessible and adaptable standards for older and disabled people; and what steps his Department is taking to assess progress on such building standards.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
On 25 June, the Prime Minister announced we will consult on mandating higher accessibility standards for new housing. New Planning guidance was published on 26 June to support councils to put clear policies in place for addressing the housing needs of older and disabled people.
The annual English Housing Survey collects data on accessible and adaptable features in new homes retrospectively.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of Local Plans which include a requirement for new homes to be accessible and adaptable.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
At present, the Government does not collect this data. A recent report by Habinteg suggests that less than a third of all English local plans currently set specific requirements for a percentage of new homes to be built to accessible or adaptable standards.
We have strengthened policy in the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in July 2018, so that local planning authorities are expected to put in place specific policies to address the housing needs of older and disabled people. We have also strengthened the policy approach to accessible housing by setting out an expectation that planning policies for housing should make use of government standards for accessible and adaptable housing.