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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the Building Safety Fund for remedial works to medium rise blocks will begin.

As with all policies, the Government continues to monitor this situation and the progress of remediation of buildings. The Government is committed to introducing a new scheme to provide funding for the remediation or mitigation of the fire safety risks linked to external wall system defects on medium-rise buildings (11-18m) where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced, or held responsible. An initial pilot of the scheme opened in November 2022, targeting a small number of buildings that have interim measures or simultaneous evacuation measures in place. Further details will be set out in due course.

The availability of funding for fire safety risks linked to external wall system defects from the Building Safety Fund, and in due course the Cladding Safety Scheme, takes no account of the number of properties owned by leaseholders. Residential properties are bought both as personal residences and commercial investments and Parliament determined that it was appropriate to draw that distinction at the ownership of three properties, when considering this matter in relation to protecting leaseholders, during the passage of the Building Safety Act 2022.