Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of borough-wide licensing schemes on improving the standard and safety of accommodation in the private rented sector.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Licensing is an effective tool when used in a targeted fashion to deliver improved standards and safety in the private rented sector in specific areas that are suffering from serious problems.
Under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004, local authorities are able to introduce a selective licensing scheme in defined areas to tackle problems such as deprivation, high crime and poor property conditions.
Any scheme submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation will be considered on its merits and whether it meets the statutory requirements in Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of borough-wide licensing schemes in tackling criminal landlords.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Licensing is an effective tool when used in a targeted fashion to deliver improved standards and safety in the private rented sector in specific areas that are suffering from serious problems.
Under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004, local authorities are able to introduce a selective licensing scheme in defined areas to tackle problems such as deprivation, high crime and poor property conditions.
Any scheme submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation will be considered on its merits and whether it meets the statutory requirements in Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 18 of the Social Mobility Commission's report, Time for Change: an assessment of government policies on social mobility 1997-2017, published on 28 June 2017, what assessment he has made of the effect of poor housing conditions on child development.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Good housing plays a very important role in helping children develop and reach their full potential. All homes should be of a reasonable standard and everyone should have a safe place to live. In rented housing, the Government is committed to ensuring tenants enjoy decent standards and receive a service which represents value for money for their rent. Local authorities have strong and effective powers to deal with poor quality, unsafe accommodation.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the effect on (a) individual homeowners and (b) social diversity in the affected area of compulsory purchase orders issued by local authorities in relation to regeneration projects.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Government policy is that a Compulsory Purchase Order will only be confirmed if there is a compelling case in the public interest.
When deciding whether or not confirm a compulsory purchase order, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. He must have due regard to the need to (a) eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation; (b) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and (c) foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation
The Government has published a National Strategy for Estate Regeneration, which sets out government’s expectations for how landlords, developers and local authorities should engage with residents throughout an estate regeneration scheme, and for how residents should be protected.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the domestic housing market of the exclusive sale of housing units in regenerated urban estates to foreign and offshore investors.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
My Department has no plans to restrict foreign ownership of new residential property in the UK, but will keep the issue under review. Research on foreign ownership of new build housing in London (LSE and York University for the Greater London Authority, May 2017) found that less than 20 per cent had been sold to foreign investors. Of this 20 per cent they have largely (70 per cent plus) been rented to Londoners. The report also outlined the importance of these sales in terms of pre-sales commitments to enable the construction of major developments.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the role of redevelopment projects on former local authority housing sites in the financial planning of local authorities.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
A local authority may use receipts arising from the disposal of surplus housing land for any capital purpose, and they may assess the role of redevelopment projects on former local housing sites as part of their strategic or financial planning.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2017 to Question 612, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of fire safety inspections in residential buildings where property ownership is divided among a large number of private sector landlords and owner-occupiers.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Local authorities have strong powers to deal with poor quality, unsafe accommodation and we expect them to use those powers. Under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), local authorities can issue an Improvement Notice or a Hazard Awareness Notice if they find a defect in the property. Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice is a criminal offence for which local authorities can impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecute in the courts which have the power to impose an unlimited fine. In extreme circumstances, the local authority may decide to make repairs themselves, or to prohibit that property from being rented out. The HHSRS applies to all residential properties, regardless of who owns them.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a duty on housing providers to undertake a fire risk assessment of the common parts of their properties and to put in place and maintain adequate fire precautions to manage the risk that lives could be lost in a fire. The Order is enforced by fire and rescue authorities. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Fire Safety Order may to lead to prosecution and potentially a significant fine or custodial sentence.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether representations were made to his Department by representatives of the Building Research Establishment in 2016 on the presence of combustible materials in tall buildings not compromising relevant building regulations.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
In 2016 the Building Research Establishment published findings of research, commissioned by my Department, into newer construction techniques being used in buildings. Its intention was to raise awareness in the construction industry of the potential risks associated with certain techniques being used. A copy of that research can be found at https://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/Fire%20and%20Security/FI---External-Fire-Spread-Part-1.pdf
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether Sir Peter Bonfield, Chief Executive of the Building Research Establishment, approved the guidance document BR135 as part of the regulatory scheme set out in Fire Safety: Approved Document B: 2 under which Grenfell Tower was refurbished in 2016.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The document BR135 is referenced in Approved Document B. Approved Documents are approved by the Secretary of State under the Building Act 1984. The 2006 edition was therefore approved by Ministers of the then Government.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to broaden the scope of combustibility testing as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire to include (a) insulation materials and (b) other materials used in the construction, refurbishment or maintenance of tall buildings in the UK.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
On 30 June, we published a note at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testing
This note sets out how the testing of cladding is being carried out. On 6 July we then published details of further tests to be carried out as the next step in helping landlords to ensure the safety of their buildings. These large scale tests will help establish how different types of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels, in combination with different types of insulation, behave in a fire. Further detail about the next testing stage can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expert-panel-recommends-further-tests-on-cladding-and-insulation