Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many (a) administrative officers and administrative assistants (AO and AA), (b) executive officers (EO), (c) senior executive officers and higher executive officers (SEO and HEO), (d) grades six and seven and (e) senior civil service (SCS) officials are responsible for processing applications to the Building Safety Fund.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 78443 on 29 November 2021.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 help reduce the time taken to process applications to the Building Safety Fund.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We aim to progress eligible applications to the Building Safety Fund quickly and diligently. The planning and delivery of the remediation on a high-rise building can be complex. To help with this, we offer fund applicants pre tender funding and specialist expert support to speed up applications and the start of remediation. Detailed information on the Building Safety Fund application process and estimated timelines can be found in the Building Safety Fund application guidance available at: www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-application-process.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to submit correctly completed applications as soon as possible. The quicker an applicant submits their application, the quicker their application will be processed. A poorly completed full application will result in delays.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many FTE officials in his Department are responsible for processing applications to the Building Safety Fund.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Departmental workforce numbers are published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/workforce-management.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the independent export group's report entitled Independent expert statement in building safety in medium and lower-rise blocks of flats, published on 12 July 2021, when his Department will change the Government's fire safety advice for residential buildings under 18 metres in height in line with the recommendations of that report.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Following the July Independent Expert Statement on Building Safety in medium and lower rise blocks of flats, the Government strongly supports the expert group's position that EWS1 forms should not be required on buildings under 18 metres. New guidance for the risk assessment of external wall systems will soon be introduced. The PAS9980 will ensure that fire risk assessments are consistent, proportionate to risk and actions to manage risk are cost-effective, and the Consolidated Advice Note will shortly be withdrawn. The combination of these changes and the commencement of the Fire Safety Act, and associated Fire Safety Order, will create a clear new proportionate and risk appropriate system for assessment.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors’ guidance on EWS1 guidance on buildings below 18 metres in height, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of that guidance on the housing market.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Government continues to challenge industry on the use of the EWS1 process, as well as pressing for more data so that we can get a sense of how the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) guidance is being applied, and the impact of the process on mortgage applications. The first tranche of EWS1 data will be published shortly. The Department intends to withdraw the Consolidated Advice Note by the end of the year. Following this, RICS will update their guidance accordingly.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much was allocated to applicants to the Waking Watch Fund who applied during the second application window of 26 May to 24 June 2021.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Data on the Waking Watch Relief Fund, including the amount of funding allocated and approved, is published at: www.gov.uk/guidance/waking-watch-relief-fund#waking-watch-relief-fund-data. The data is updated monthly and the next update will be on 16 September 2021 which will show data to the end of August 2021.
The majority of the Fund is administered by local and regional authorities, who are responsible for providing the allocated funding to buildings in their area.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much was allocated to applicants to the Waking Watch Fund who applied during the first application window of 31 January to 14 March 2021.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Data on the Waking Watch Relief Fund, including the amount of funding allocated and approved, is published at: www.gov.uk/guidance/waking-watch-relief-fund#waking-watch-relief-fund-data. The data is updated monthly and the next update will be on 16 September 2021 which will show data to the end of August 2021.
The majority of the Fund is administered by local and regional authorities, who are responsible for providing the allocated funding to buildings in their area.