Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 taken steps to ensure that before selling homes under the Right to Buy scheme between 1980 and 2022, local authorities (a) assessed those buildings for (i) cladding and (ii) building safety defects and (b) informed prospective buyers of (A) non-standard construction in and (B) the life expectancy of such homes; and if he will provide guidance to local authorities on ensuring that (1) such assessments are made for before homes are sold under the Right to Buy scheme and (2) prospective buyers are informed of (x) non-standard construction in and (y) the life expectancy of such homes.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Local authorities are responsible for conservation areas. The Manual to the Building Regulations notes that where the functional requirement of Part B Fire Safety applies to buildings of special architectural or historic interest, local authority building control and conservation officers may be able to advise on how to comply appropriately, if guidance intended for common building situations might prove too restrictive.
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking, following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023.
I would be delighted to meet my Hon Friend and I know we are trying to do so, alongside our Rt Hon Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet, as soon as diaries permit.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of restrictions in conservation areas on the safety of (a) residential cladding materials and (b) fire safety remediation and mitigation measures.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Local authorities are responsible for conservation areas. The Manual to the Building Regulations notes that where the functional requirement of Part B Fire Safety applies to buildings of special architectural or historic interest, local authority building control and conservation officers may be able to advise on how to comply appropriately, if guidance intended for common building situations might prove too restrictive.
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking, following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023.
I would be delighted to meet my Hon Friend and I know we are trying to do so, alongside our Rt Hon Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet, as soon as diaries permit.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 meet with the hon. Member for Hendon to discuss what steps his Department is taking following the meeting with Barnet Council on 3 May 2024.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Local authorities are responsible for conservation areas. The Manual to the Building Regulations notes that where the functional requirement of Part B Fire Safety applies to buildings of special architectural or historic interest, local authority building control and conservation officers may be able to advise on how to comply appropriately, if guidance intended for common building situations might prove too restrictive.
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking, following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023.
I would be delighted to meet my Hon Friend and I know we are trying to do so, alongside our Rt Hon Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet, as soon as diaries permit.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 make an estimate of the number of terraced timber-frame homes that have (a) timber cladding and (b) UPVC cladding that may be affected by fire safety issues.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Local authorities are responsible for conservation areas. The Manual to the Building Regulations notes that where the functional requirement of Part B Fire Safety applies to buildings of special architectural or historic interest, local authority building control and conservation officers may be able to advise on how to comply appropriately, if guidance intended for common building situations might prove too restrictive.
We are aware of the action being taken by Barnet Council and continue to engage closely with them on the steps they are taking, following the Moss Hall Grove fire in June 2023.
I would be delighted to meet my Hon Friend and I know we are trying to do so, alongside our Rt Hon Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet, as soon as diaries permit.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to extend the limitation period for making claims under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 to 52 years.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I am grateful for my Hon Friend’s suggestion. Whilst we are not proposing to extend the Defective Premises Act limitation period any further, I will bear in mind his suggestions should it ever be considered in the future.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 is taking to support high street businesses in Hendon constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young
DLUHC has invested in the mixed-use regeneration of Brent Cross Town between Hendon and Cricklewood with £419 million of grant for the new Brent Cross West station which opened to passengers on 10 December 2023 – the first major new mainline train station in London in over a decade – and £148 million from the Home Building fund to deliver 6,700 new homes. These investments will support the transformation of Brent Cross to deliver over 50 new locations for retail, food and drink and provide high quality workspaces for over 25,000 people, including flexible, small business spaces adjacent to the new high street.
Local business support is available through the London Business Hub, which delivers London’s growth hub services.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the number of residential properties constructed in Hendon constituency in the last 14 years.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The department’s most comprehensive measure of housing supply is our annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’. This includes estimates of new homes added in each local authority, but does not show figures at the constituency level.
You can find data for the London Borough of Barnet here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-net-supply-of-housing.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 publish guidance to enable the recognition of residents associations by managing agents.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Government published regulations in 2018 that make it easier for leaseholders to form Recognised Tenants’ Associations (RTAs). These associations have legal standing and significant abilities to hold their landlord to account. Meanwhile, the Government continues to work with industry on improving best practice across the property agent sector. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will make it easier for leaseholders to scrutinise costs and challenge the services provided by both landlords and property managing agents and to better protect and empower leaseholders, alongside existing protections and work undertaken by industry to raise professionalism and standards.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the number of local authorities that maintain offices in the EU.
Answered by Simon Hoare
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the number of local authorities that maintain offices in the EU.
Answered by Simon Hoare
The information requested is not held centrally.