Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish detailed guidelines for local authorities on support for relatives of British nationals to be evacuated from Afghanistan under the forthcoming Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We recognise the vulnerability of this group and as such, British Nationals are currently being accommodated in bridging accommodation in the same way as arrivals on the ARAP and ACRS programmes. They are also able to access Universal Credit, with financial support available until this is set up for them. DLUHC is working closely with the Home Office on this and a range of issues. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what provisions are in plans to help ensure minimum disruption for residents in buildings where fire safety remediation is potentially being carried out on two parallel tracks to fix defects that are (a) covered by the Building Safety Fund and (b) beyond the remit of that fund.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Building owners are responsible for the safety of their building, including keeping residents informed of any building safety work they are undertaking and for ensuring that any disruption to residents is minimised. Likewise building owners, or their representatives, are also responsible for the planning and delivery of the remediation of unsafe cladding being funded by the Building Safety Fund. As part of the funding application building owners must inform residents of the nature of the works they intend to carry out and provide them with regular updates on the progress of the remediation and they must ensure remediation projects follow best industry practice.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the context of remediation of fire safety defects in towerblocks, whether exemptions are possible for wooden balconies in the event that they have been treated with fire retardant material.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government has always been clear that a risk-based professional judgement should be made regarding the safety of a building’s external wall system and would encourage building owners to consult a competent professional who will be able to advise.
A number of factors should be considered when considering balconies including building height, balcony arrangement and location as well as consideration of other fire safety measures such as sprinklers. We cannot comment on specific building situations however we would always encourage those undertaking these assessments to use an approach proportionate to the level of risk in each building.
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 balcony spandrels and laminated glass, construction technologies and design, compartmentation and fire resistance, and other important topics. Details of the technical review are set out here:
The Technical Review will provide us a robust evidence base to make any future policy decisions.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what advice he can give to leaseholders in buildings below 18 metres in height, where mortgage lenders are refusing to give mortgages without an EWS1 form, despite the Government's clarification that EWS1 forms are not needed in buildings of that size.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
An independent expert statement in July this year was clear that there is no systemic risk of fire in residential buildings under 18 metres and that EWS1 forms should not be required by lenders on buildings under 18 metres. The Government strongly supports this position and made this clear in its written statement of 21 July.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what requirements are in place for EWS1 forms for apartment buildings which are (a) below 18 metres in height and (b) in need of remedial work according to a fire safety survey completed by the building's owners.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Following the Independent Expert Statement in July this year 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. Any concerns identified in buildings under 18 metres, via an up to date statutory fire risk assessment, should be addressed primarily by risk management and mitigation, before any remediation considerations.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the rules on buildings above 18 metres tall and with potentially combustible cladding apply to those buildings originally under 18 metres tall, which are subsequently extended vertically to above 18 metres.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Details of the scope of the ban on combustible materials are provided in the circular letter which accompanied the amendments of the Building Regulations and associated amended guidance. The circular letter is available here:
In summary existing blocks of flats originally under 18m tall which are subsequently extended vertically to above 18m would be undergoing a material change of use defined in regulation 5(k). In these cases, Regulations 5(k) and 6(3) provide that the construction of the external walls, and specified attachments, must be investigated and, where necessary, work must be carried out to ensure they meet the requirements of the ban.
We have published the following circular letter dealing specifically with upward extensions and the application of the Building Regulations requirements in August 2020.
The circular letter is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/924449/Building_regs_circular_032020.pdf.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on what date successful applicants to the Community Renewal Fund will be notified; and whether he plans for the fund to extend beyond March 2022.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There has been significant interest in the UK Community Renewal Fund across the four investment priorities and bids are being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes will be announced shortly and bidders informed. We will provide further guidance on UK Community Renewal Fund as soon as possible, to enable bidders to plan for delivery once decisions have been announced.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he plans to make of the environmental impact of the proposed Whitehaven Coal Mine in Cumbria, in response to the publication of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In March of this year, the then Secretary of State called in the planning application for the proposed Whitehaven Coal Mine. A public inquiry is currently sitting, overseen by an independent planning Inspector. That inquiry will consider all relevant planning considerations, including the environmental effect of the proposal. Following the close of the inquiry, a report and recommendation will be prepared for Ministers to consider.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2021 to Question 15286 on Buildings: Insulation, whether there is a list of HPL cladding products approved by his Department; and where that list is located.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
High Pressure Laminate (HPL) panels can have a wide range of fire performance and so the Department has not published a list of approved HPL products.
However, following the test carried out by the Department in 2019, an advice note was published to provide advice to building owners on the fire performance of HPL cladding system. This advice note was then included in the Consolidated Advice Note which is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/869532/Building_safety_advice_for_building_owners_including_fire_doors_January_2020.pdf
The Secretary of State has confirmed that we will shortly retire the consolidated advice note in favour of the development of new more risk-proportionate guidelines for fire risk assessors including PAS 9980 which will include information on HPL.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the deadline of 30 September 2021 for the start of remedial works to be paid for under the Building Safety Fund, whether there will be flexibility in the application of that deadline in the event that a decision has been delayed as a result of the appeals process.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The timelines for the Building Safety Fund were intended to incentivise building owners to speed up plans to identify and remediate unsafe buildings. The Building Safety Fund Application Guidance requests that applicants work to meet the deadlines set out by the fund wherever possible. We recognise, however, that meeting these deadlines may not be possible in all circumstances, for instance where applicants find that they do not have sufficient time to complete a robust and satisfactory procurement process or are still going through the appeals process. More time may be permitted on a case by case basis, providing applicants continue to keep delivery partners and residents fully informed and provide them with realistic timetables. Building safety remains the responsibility of the building owner, and they must take swift action to remediate safety issues, without passing on costs to leaseholders.