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 17 July 2019 to Question 276197 on Buildings: Insulation, in the event that high-pressure laminate cladding fails a BS 8414 test for the same reasons aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding did, whether he would still consider ACM cladding to be wholly exceptional.

On 18 July 2019 the Independent Expert Advisory Panel (IAEP) issued an advice note to building owners. In this advice note the IAEP states the following:

“The view of the Expert Panel is that the level of risk from unsafe HPL systems is not as high a risk as unsafe systems using ACM Category 3 panels. Therefore, the Expert Panel remains clear that the immediate removal of unsafe systems using ACM Category 3 panels should be an absolute priority of focus for building owners and the sector, followed by immediate action to remediate unsafe HPL systems. For the avoidance of doubt both the removal of unsafe ACM Category 3 panels and action to remediate unsafe HPL systems should be carried out as soon as possible.”

The full advice note is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/818184/Advice_note_on_use_of_HPL_panels_in_external_wall_systems.pdf