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Written Question
Buildings: Safety
Friday 25th February 2022

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the responsibilities of the National House Building Council for UK building safety.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 122751 on 21 February 2022.


Written Question
Buildings: Safety
Friday 25th February 2022

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans the Government has to improve the quality of building safety checks nationally.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Building Safety Bill currently in the House of Lords marks the next step in the Government’s ongoing reforms to make sure everyone’s home is a place of safety. The Bill is part of a package of legislative changes to move things forward and make sure the problems Dame Judith Hackitt identified with the current building and fire safety regime are rectified. The package includes the measures in the Fire Safety Act 2021 and changes to the Fire Safety Order alongside the current Building Safety Bill.

The new regime established through the Building Safety Bill will:

  • Establish a national Building Safety Regulator at the heart of our reformed building regulations and fire safety system. The Regulator will make buildings safer by enforcing a stringent new regulatory regime for high-rise residential and other in scope buildings, overseeing the safety and performance of all buildings, and increasing the competence of those working across the built environment.
  • require those responsible for buildings when they are occupied to actively manage building risks, evidencing this through a new ‘safety case’ regime. This will make sure that proportionate steps are taken to deal with building risks in high-rise buildings through prevention, control, mitigation and ongoing management.
  • It will also give a greater voice to residents of tall buildings to air their concerns and toughen sanctions against those who threaten their safety.

The Department has also taken steps to ensure that industry takes a proportionate approach in the assessment of the external walls of buildings. The government has supported the development of guidance which aims to provide risk proportionate guidance to competent assessors. This guidance (PAS 9980) provides new advice on how to assess the risk of fire via an external wall of an existing multi-storey, multi-occupied residential building. It sets out steps that can be taken to identify and assess risk factors as well as mitigation measures that might improve the risk rating of a building via a holistic and fact-based assessment of a building’s construction.


Written Question
Building Regulations
Monday 21st February 2022

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the National House Building Council’s role in overseeing building regulations.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Under the current system, Approved Inspectors such as NHBC are independently monitored and regulated by CICAIR Ltd to carry out building control work in England (and Wales). CICAIR Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the approval process it operates provides a route to registration as an Approved Inspector.

The Building Safety Regulator will be responsible for oversight of the competence and performance of building control professionals and the building control bodies in which they work, taking a wider view of the professionalism and culture that needs to support building safety in all classes of work, not just in-scope buildings. To do this, we are introducing a system of oversight of the performance of building control bodies (Local Authorities and Registered Building Control Approvers), and a system of individual registration based on competence and adherence to a code of conduct, all overseen by the Building Safety Regulator.


Written Question
Building Safety Fund: Leasehold
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the number of leaseholders in buildings under 18 metres high having to pay for remediation works, despite the Government issuing a recommendation that EWS1 forms should not be required for those buildings.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Department does not hold this information. An independent expert statement in July this year was clear that there is no systemic risk of fire in residential buildings under 18 metres and that EWS1s should not be required by lenders on buildings under 18 metres. The Government strongly supports this position and made this clear in its written statement of 21 July. Existing EWS1 assessments of buildings under 18 metres should be reviewed to ensure that proportionate risk management and mitigation has been considered before committing to remediation, and the Building Owner should share that information with the leaseholders.


Written Question
High Rise Flats: Insulation
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of banks refusing mortgages on properties affected by cladding related issues until remedial works are completed.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government is aware of anecdotal reports of lenders requesting remediation to be completed prior to lending. The Department does not support this approach and is of the firm view that a clear financing plan for remediation, including Government grant funding, removes the financial risk to lenders and should enable mortgage lending to progress.


Written Question
Housing: Insulation
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish the guidance for loans taken out by leaseholders living in blocks affected by cladding-related issues.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

We realise the need to get unsafe cladding remediated as swiftly as possible as public safety is our first priority. We will make further details of the financing scheme available as soon as possible.


Written Question
Housing: Insulation
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that loans taken out by leaseholders living in blocks affected by cladding-related issues are capped at £50 per month for repayments.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government is providing grants for the removal of unsafe cladding systems from residential buildings over 18 metres. In lower rise buildings of 11-18 metres, with a lower risk to safety, leaseholders will gain new protection from the costs of cladding removal through a financing scheme that will limit repayments so that leaseholders will never pay more than £50 a month. We are developing the details to ensure it protects leaseholders, prioritising affordability and accelerating remediation where required. Further details of the financing scheme will be available as soon as possible.


Written Question
Housing: Rochester and Strood
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support leaseholders in buildings with dangerous cladding in Rochester and Strood Constituency.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government is providing further grant funding of £3.5 billion in addition to the £1.6 billion already provided to fund the removal of unsafe cladding systems from residential buildings of 18 metres and over in England. We are also providing expert construction consultation support to actively engage with those planning and undertaking remediation work being funded by the Government to increase the pace of remediation. In addition to this, the Government is providing a £30 million Waking Watch Relief Fund to pay for the costs of installing an alarm system in high rise buildings with unsafe cladding. Common alarm systems will enable costly waking watch measures to be replaced in buildings waiting to have unsafe cladding removed.

The Government has recently announced a generous financing scheme which will mean that buildings of 11-18 metres in height will be able to make use of finance for the remediation of unsafe cladding, with a commitment that leaseholders will not need to pay more than £50 a month towards this. By providing this financing scheme we are ensuring that money is available for remediation, accelerating the process and making homes safer as quickly as possible. We are developing the underpinning details to ensure it protects leaseholders, prioritising affordability and accelerating remediation where required and we will release further information on this financing scheme as soon as we can.

However, Government funding and other support does not absolve industry from responsibility and taking action. We expect developers, investors and building owners to cover remediation costs themselves, meeting their legal and contractual obligations, recovering costs or drawing on warranties where applicable, without passing on costs to leaseholders. This is happening in over half of all private sector high-rise residential buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems.


Written Question
Building Safety Fund
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department made of the potential merits of extending the Building Safety Fund to buildings 11 to 18 metres in height.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government has rightly targeted the Building Safety Fund at the removal of unsafe cladding on higher rise buildings (over 18 metres), where the risk is greater and the cost of cladding remediation is higher. This is in line with longstanding independent expert advice. We know that as buildings get taller there is greater risk. That is why we are making sure that these buildings are remediated and have provided grants to get this done quickly.

Between 11 metres and 18 metres the risk profile of buildings is different and will not always require the same level of remediation when risks are identified. However, we want to make sure that residents and leaseholders in these buildings also have peace of mind and financial certainty. Our financing scheme for these buildings will give them confidence that remediation of dangerous cladding can take place, and leaseholders will not be asked to pay more than £50 a month towards it.


Written Question
Housing: Insulation
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative - Rochester and Strood)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support his Department is providing to leaseholders in buildings of 11 to 18 metres affected by cladding-related issues.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The Government has announced a generous financing scheme which will mean that buildings of 11-18 metres in height will be able to make use of finance for the remediation of unsafe cladding, with a commitment that leaseholders will not need to pay more than £50 a month towards this. By providing this financing scheme we are ensuring that funding is available for remediation, accelerating the process and making homes safer as quickly as possible.