Asked by: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will issue guidance to the directors of right to manage companies on their potential liability for fires at leasehold properties awaiting fire safety remediation; and if he will take steps to help mitigate that risk.
Answered by Lee Rowley
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
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
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: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of the end of EU funding on less developed regions in the UK; and if he will make it his policy to provide the equivalent amount of funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund when it is allocated in 2022.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
UK-wide funding for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will ramp up to at least match receipts from EU structural funds, which on average reached around £1.5 billion per year. Spending Review 2021 fulfils this commitment, with the announcement of over £2.6 billion for the UKSPF over the next three years, with funding reaching £1.5 billion in 2024-25.
The UKSPF will focus on restoring a sense of community, local pride and belonging across the country. The UKSPF will act as a primary lever in levelling up people and places in all parts of the UK to empower places to identify, and build on, their own strengths and needs at a local level.
Asked by: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to extend the ban on the use combustible materials to buildings above 11 metres in height, as well as a range of high-risk buildings.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In November 2018 the Government introduced a ban on combustible materials in and on the external walls in new blocks of flats above 18 meters in height, as well as hospitals, care premises, and student accommodation.
In January 2020 we consulted on the proposal to extend the ban of the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings. We continue to review and analyse the numerous and detailed responses we have received and develop our proposal. We will publish a response to the consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will prioritise the Government’s response to the review of the ban on the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings, which closed in May 2020.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In November 2018 the Government introduced a ban on combustible materials in and on the external walls in new blocks of flats above 18 meters in height, as well as hospitals, care premises, and student accommodation.
In January 2020 we consulted on the proposal to extend the ban of the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings. We continue to review and analyse the numerous and detailed responses we have received and develop our proposal. We will publish a response to the consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department takes to evaluate the risk of fire in buildings; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of aligning trigger height thresholds for the use of combustible materials with firefighting capabilities.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In January 2020, we consulted on the proposal to extend the ban of the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings. We continue to review and analyse the numerous and detailed responses we have received and develop our proposal. We will publish a response to the consultation in due course.
In April 2020, the Government published the workplan for the technical review of the statutory guidance to the Building Regulations with regards to fire safety (Approved Document B). We have commissioned research for this fundamental review which will address key fire safety issues. We have already started research on trigger heights and thresholds, means of escape for disabled people, specialised housing, and other important topics. Details of the technical review are set out here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/877365/Technical_review_of_Approved_Document_B_workplan.pdf
The Technical Review will provide us a robust evidence base to make any future policy decisions.
Asked by: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will review the scope of the Building Safety Bill and the 18 metre threshold at which the Building Safety Regulator has oversight of buildings.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Building Safety Regulator will have a duty to keep under review the safety and standard of all buildings, not just those over 18 metres. It could fulfil this oversight duty by undertaking research, using evidence, data and intelligence to identify and assess emerging risks, encouraging learning to be shared and making recommendations to Government to improve standards when needed. This could include recommending altering the definition of higher-risk building if the conditions for doing so are met.
The Building Safety Bill has a provision requiring the Secretary of State to appoint an independent person to carry out a periodic review of the system every five years once Royal Assent is received. The 18 metre height threshold used to define higher-risk building for the new regulatory regime set out in the Building Safety Bill and the effectiveness of the Regulator in carrying out its duties must be covered under these reviews.
Asked by: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish research from the British Research Establishment on trigger height thresholds.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The research is advancing and is currently scheduled to conclude at the end of 2021.
Asked by: Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the consultation entitled Review of the ban on the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We continue to analyse the responses, and will be publishing a Government response to the consultation.