Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the fire risks associated with high-pressure laminate (HPL) cladding; and whether he plans to ensure the removal of HPL from all apartment blocks in the UK.

Unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding poses a particularly high risk on High Rise Residential Buildings. This is why the Government has set aside £600 million (£200 million for private buildings and up to £400 million for social buildings) for remediation of ACM cladding systems.

Non-ACM cladding systems or other structural works which are not directly related to the remediation of ACM cladding systems will not be part of the fund.

The Government has consistently made clear that building safety is the responsibility of the building owner and this includes acting if they have other cladding which they cannot confirm is safe – detailed advice is contained in Government Advice Note 14 published in December 2017 and revised in December 2018.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765761/Expert_Panel_advice_note_on_non-ACM.pdf

My Department has also established a research project to test and improve the evidence available on the behaviour of a range of non-ACM materials used in cladding systems when subjected to fire. I refer the Hon Member to the written statement made by the Secretary of State on 1 May 2019 (HCWS1533 Building Safety Update).