Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's Remediation Acceleration Plan, published on 2 December 2024, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing support to volunteer directors of (a) Resident Management Companies and (b) Right to Manage Companies in the event of enforcement action being taken.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 20026 on the 23 December 2024.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's Remediation Acceleration Plan, published on 2 December 2024, what her planned timetable is to have discussions with insurers on support to reduce fire related liabilities for leaseholders during remediation programmes.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 19763 from 19 December 2024.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's Remediation Acceleration Plan, published on 02 December 2024, whether her Department intends to set a deadline for the completion of cladding remediation works on 11-18 metre buildings.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 18996 on 18 December 2024.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will include a target for the number of social rent homes in the long-term housing strategy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 19382 on 20 December 2024.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing grant funding for the remediation of non-cladding defects in leaseholder-owned buildings in the event of enforcement action being taken.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Act provides Remediation Contribution Orders for all leaseholders, including those who have exercised their right to enfranchise, allowing them to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for an order requiring developers to pay to fix unsafe buildings. A remediation contribution order can be used to require a developer or associate (as well as a former landlord or associate) to make payments for the purpose of meeting costs already incurred in remedying relevant defects (or specified relevant defects) relating to the relevant building.
Leaseholder-owned buildings are also eligible for the government’s Cladding Safety Scheme. The Responsible Actors Scheme and developer remediation contract require relevant developers to take responsibility for all necessary work to address life-critical fire safety defects arising from design and construction of buildings 11 metres and over in height that they developed or refurbished in England in the 30 years ending on 4 April 2022, including leaseholder-owned buildings.
We are committed to reviewing how to better protect leaseholders from costs.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Building Safety Remediation: monthly data release - November 2024, published on 19 December 2024, and in the context of her Department's Remediation Acceleration Plan, published on 2 December 2024, what assessment she has made of the reason why only 10% of buildings that were forecast to start remediation in the last quarter have done so.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There are 4,683 buildings covered by the Developer Remediation Contract. To date, developers have identified 1,492 buildings that they will remediate directly – an increase of 135 in the last quarter. Of those, 652 (44%) have started or completed remedial works, including 292 where works have been completed.
Remediation has been too slow. Progress can be slowed by disputes between developers and freeholders over access to the building and/or the scope of works, access to competent and independent assessors, and delay to securing regulatory approvals. On 2 December, we published a joint plan to accelerate developer-led remediation and improve resident experience, as part of our wider published plan to accelerate remediation of all buildings. To date, 38 developers have signed up to the joint plan and thereby committed to make every effort to start or complete remedial work on 80% of their buildings by July 2026 and on all of their buildings by July 2027.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference page 53 of the National Audit Office's report entitled Dangerous cladding: the government’s remediation portfolio, published on 4 November 2024, what proportion of fire risk appraisals of external walls conducted by developers up to 31 December 2024 (a) have been audited by her Department and (b) did not meet the required standard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry has begun auditing developer assessments and we will be issuing results in greater volumes over the next few months. We also intend to start publishing data about the audits later this year as part of our quarterly remediation data releases. If a relevant assessment obtained by a developer does not meet the standards set out in the developer remediation contract, the developer would be obligated to address the matter.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2025 to Question 21356 on Tri Fire, whether (a) leaseholders, (b) mortgage lenders, (c) building insurers and (d) other stakeholders can seek confirmation from her Department on whether a building's (i) Fire Risk Appraisal and (ii) Qualifying Assessment has (A) been audited by her Department and (B) met the required standard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry has begun auditing developer assessments and we will be issuing results in greater volumes over the next few months. We also intend to start publishing data about the audits later this year as part of our quarterly remediation data releases. If a relevant assessment obtained by a developer does not meet the standards set out in the developer remediation contract, the developer would be obligated to address the matter.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2025 to Question 21356 on Tri Fire, what proportion of (a) pre-remediation fire risk appraisals of the external walls and (b) post-remediation qualifying assessments that were carried out by Trifire for buildings under the Developer Remediation Contract scheme have been audited by the Department.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry has begun auditing developer assessments and we will be issuing results in greater volumes over the next few months. We also intend to start publishing data about the audits later this year as part of our quarterly remediation data releases. If a relevant assessment obtained by a developer does not meet the standards set out in the developer remediation contract, the developer would be obligated to address the matter.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 10482 on Flats: Fire Prevention, when the Department's previous contract with PRP Group expired for the independent audit of Fire Risk Appraisals of the External Walls for under 11 metre buildings; and what estimate she has made of when the procurement of a new contract will be complete.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department’s previous contract with PRP Group expired in July 2024. Estimated timings for the completion of a new contract is March 2025.