Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether there is a mechanism for leaseholders to request a second opinion following a building safety assessment and report on their building.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Fire risk assessments must be proportionate to make sure that unnecessary remediation costs are avoided and leaseholders are protected from unreasonable costs. Where remediation of a building is recommended by an assessor, material supporting this conclusion should be transparent and there should be evidence that alternatives, such as management or mitigation measures, have been clearly considered.
Leaseholders can request that a building owner seek a second opinion from another fire risk assessor on the necessity of the works or their costs. The building owner would need to agree to this and leaseholders would be responsible for any additional costs.
The Building Safety Bill will make it a requirement in law that a freeholder needs to explore all alternative sources of funding before passing these costs on to leaseholders.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the new proportionate approach that the Government plans to apply to building safety will result in fire and building safety assessments being revisited for buildings (a) over 18 metres, (b) between 11-18 metres and (c) under 11 metres.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Whole building fire risk assessments are already required in England for residential premises including common parts under the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 (FSO). Not all buildings require statutory fire risk assessments. For example, single private dwellings with no common parts are not within the scope of the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005. Buildings which already have a suitable and proportionate assessment of their external walls will not need to be reassessed.
We have worked with BSI to develop new guidance for fire safety professionals on the undertaking of fire risk appraisals of the external wall construction and cladding of existing residential buildings. This guidance (PAS 9980) will enable more proportionate appraisals when necessary.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on its work with local authorities on the regulation and management of shisha premises.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Officials have been working with a group of local authorities to consider evidence on whether shisha premises should be regulated. The Department will inform local authorities of its view on the matter in due course.