Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will provide funding for the repair of unsafe cladding on (a) buildings under 18m in height with flammable external cladding and (b) buildings with no freeholders or owners where the building has fallen to the Crown Estate.

The Government is focusing public grant funding on remediating unsafe cladding on high rise buildings of 18 metres or over. This reflects the exceptional fire risk that certain cladding products pose at that height, as previously noted by Dame Judith Hackitt observed in her independent report.

The Government also has announced a generous financing scheme which will mean that buildings of 11-18 metres in height will have access to finance for the remediation of unsafe cladding, with a commitment that leaseholders will not need to pay more than £50 a month towards this. By providing this financing scheme we are ensuring that money is available for remediation, accelerating the process and making homes safer as quickly as possible.

Where a property has become ownerless, The Crown Estate can, subject to certain requirements, make arrangements to return the property to private ownership. The private owner would then be able to apply for the Government schemes available, subject to meeting the usual eligibility requirements.