Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Unsafe Cladding

Monday 9 January 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government have provided significant taxpayer subsidy to remediate cladding on high-rise residential buildings.
  • 95% of buildings with unsafe ACM cladding have work under way or complete, and over 1.6 billion has been allocated from the fund alongside a wider set of interventions.
  • Building owners have responsibility to remediate buildings they own, and funds are available for developers to resolve issues as quickly as possible.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tom Hunt
Housing Environment
Context

The Government's measures to protect residents from unsafe cladding are being questioned. Tom Hunt is concerned about the impact of freeholders and managing agents failing in their duty of care towards residents, citing specific examples in Ipswich.

Question

What recent steps his Department has taken to help protect people from unsafe cladding? It is clear that freeholders and managing agents have a duty of care. In Ipswich, there are dramatic failures by companies like Block Management where residents live in darkness for over a year due to shrink wrap. Will the Minister confirm plans for a new regulatory framework to hold these companies accountable?

Answer from Lee Rowley

The Government have provided significant taxpayer subsidy to remediate cladding on high-rise residential buildings. 95% of buildings with unsafe ACM cladding have work under way or complete, and over £1.6 billion has been allocated from the fund alongside a wider set of interventions.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about introducing a new regulatory framework was not addressed.

How: Building Owners Have Responsibility To Remediate Buildings And Access Funds For That Purpose.

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Q2 Tom Hunt
Housing Environment
Context

The Minister has been made aware of two specific cases in Ipswich, Cardinal Lofts and St Francis Tower, where residents have suffered due to the failure of freeholders and managing agents to address unsafe cladding issues.

Question

Freeholders and managing agents have a duty of care towards residents. In Ipswich, there are dramatic examples such as Cardinal Lofts and St Francis Tower where residents live in darkness for over a year due to shrink wrap. Will the Minister confirm whether there are any plans for a new regulatory framework to make sure that these cowboy companies are held to account?

Answer from Lee Rowley

Building owners have responsibility to remediate buildings they own, and funds are available. Developers should be followed up accordingly to resolve issues as quickly as possible.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about introducing a regulatory framework was not addressed.

How: Building Owners Have Responsibility To Remediate Buildings

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Q3 Diane Abbott Lab Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Environment
Context

There is a development in Hackney, Dalston Square, with unsafe cladding. The builders, Barratt, have accepted responsibility but the scaffolding has been up for two years due to disputes between builders and contractors.

Question

The Minister understands what a terrible problem this unsafe cladding is. A development in my constituency, Dalston Square, has unsafe cladding. The builders, Barratt, have put up scaffolding that has been there for two years without any resolution because of a dispute between the builders and contractors. Is there no way the Government can ensure that unsafe cladding is dealt with promptly so residents do not suffer?

Answer from Lee Rowley

We need to resolve, mitigate and improve these properties in a way that works for leaseholders. I will be happy to receive information on the building mentioned; I visited a flat in Manchester with similar issues recently.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about ensuring prompt resolution of unsafe cladding was not addressed directly.

How: I Will Be Happy To Talk More About This Issue

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