← Back to Westminster Hall Debates
[Christina Rees in the Chair]
14 September 2021
Lead MP
Andrew Slaughter
Hammersmith and Chiswick
Lab
Responding Minister
Luke Hall
Tags
EconomyTaxationHousingLocal Government
Word Count: 13228
Other Contributors: 11
At a Glance
Andrew Slaughter raised concerns about [christina rees in the chair] in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key Requests to Government:
The MP asked what steps the Government will take to prevent the collapse of the social housing sector as a provider of new homes over the next five to ten years. He requested that electrical safety checks be made a legal requirement for social tenants, acknowledging it would require support from the Government and recognition of costs involved.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
The MP highlighted the human tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire and the comprehensive failures exposed by interim investigations like the Hackitt report. He raised concerns about the lack of Government investment in social housing, leading to a threat not only to quality of life but also to life itself for millions of tenants and leaseholders. The focus was on two aspects: the consequences for social housing landlords and tenants of fire safety works costs, with examples given like One Housing's £27.3 million expenditure and expected deficit of £25 million, leading to potential additional costs for leaseholders. He also discussed the causes of fires in social housing, particularly electrical fires, noting that 54% of household fires are caused by an electrical source of ignition, highlighting issues with fake or faulty goods sold online and the lack of national coordination.
Florence Eshalomi
Lab Co-op
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green
She paid tribute to the Member for Hammersmith for securing a debate on fire safety in social housing. She highlighted the tragedy of Grenfell Tower and expressed concern about the ongoing risks faced by social tenants in high-rise buildings, citing examples from her constituency where residents were told their blocks posed fire risks. Eshalomi called for mandatory electrical safety checks for all properties, regardless of tenure type. She agreed with her hon. Friend that there needs to be an evacuation plan for disabled residents who feel their voices are not being heard on this critical issue.
Congratulates my hon. Friend on securing debate, agrees anxiety about living in unsafe buildings leads to mental health problems, calls for a comprehensive scheme to address these concerns.
Joanna Cherry
SNP
Edinburgh South West
Paid tribute to victims of Grenfell fire and highlighted the Scottish Government's initiatives in addressing building safety, including free safety assessments for homeowners with external cladding. She mentioned that Scotland has fewer properties with Grenfell-style cladding due to specific construction requirements and noted the Scottish Government's commitment to invest all received funding from the UK Government towards remediation efforts.
He commended the debate and discussed progress in Stoke-on-Trent on retrofitting sprinklers in high-rise buildings managed by Unitas. He highlighted that 15 blocks had been retrofitted so far, with a commitment to install sprinklers in further 16 buildings. Gullis emphasised the cost-effectiveness of sprinkler systems, noting they can control or extinguish fires in 99% of cases and reduce the likelihood of serious injury.
Karen Buck
Westminster, Labour
My hon. Friend highlights that local authority housing contains a high proportion of leaseholders and the lack of clarity on requiring leaseholders to carry out fire safety works leaves many tenants at risk.
Kieran Mullan
Con
Bexhill and Battle
Mr Mullan highlighted the fire at a Beechmere retirement complex in his constituency which destroyed over 150 homes, questioning the use of timber-framed buildings. He cited several instances where timber-based construction led to fires spreading out of control and called for increased safety measures such as sprinklers and stricter regulations on post-construction work modifications. Additionally, he raised concerns about the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 conflicting with the Buildings Regulations 2010 regarding risk assessments.
Lucy Powell
Lab Co-op
Manchester Central
Ms Powell highlighted delays and a lack of clarity in the Government's handling of the building safety crisis, which began as a cladding scandal post-Grenfell but has now led to a breakdown in confidence in tall and multi-storey buildings. She criticized the £5 billion fund for not addressing soaring costs while social landlords are excluded from it. Powell also addressed issues with waking watch patrols being expensive and non-proportional risks, urging clear guidance on risk management. The Building Safety Bill was critiqued for its 18-metre height limit definition of higher-risk buildings and the potential conflicts of interest in building control bodies. She called for reform to provide accountability and a voice to tenants, noting that social housing providers have been slow to receive funding while facing financial risks.
Margaret Ferrier
SNP
Rutherglen and Hamilton West
Ferrier highlighted the preventable nature of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, emphasizing how residents' concerns were ignored. She quoted Sheila's statement that 'human beings who live there' were never mentioned by those in charge. Ferrier pointed out that Rydon saved £375,000 by choosing Celotex cladding and that each life lost was valued at less than £5,000. She called for steps to ensure future product tests cannot be bypassed or rigged. Asked about the Scottish Government's plan for remediation funding in Scotland, where non-ACM cladding has left properties in limbo regarding safety and remediation needs.
Stephen Doughty
Lab Co-op
Cardiff South and Penarth
I agree with my hon. Friend's points about mental health impacts, praising Cardiff Council for quick action and Welsh Government for £10.5 million funding but highlighting the need for clarity on UK Government funding. He praised the lead MP for her work on the topic since her appointment and expressed concern about mental health and financial issues among leaseholders. He highlighted the frustration over lack of clarity regarding UK Government funding to the Welsh Government and its consequentials. Asks for clarity on when the Welsh Government will receive funding consequentials and adequate co-operation regarding tax and levy issues that have been affecting leaseholders across the UK since February.
Tony Lloyd
Lab
Rochdale
Discussed the unanticipated costs of remediation for social landlords and their impact on housing policy. Highlighted a fire safety issue in Rochdale's Seven Sisters tower blocks, questioning whether there is national analysis on such challenges and if funding will cover all types of problems. Questions whether other types of fire prevention work will be covered by the £5 billion fund, citing an example from his constituency.
Tulip Siddiq
Lab
Hampstead and Highgate
I read a statement from a constituent about the mental health impact caused by living in an unsafe building, expressing anxiety due to potential high bills for fire safety works. This reflects the emotional toll on individuals.
Government Response
Luke Hall
Government Response
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship and to be back in Westminster Hall, Ms Rees. I thank the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) for securing this important debate; he gave an incredibly thoughtful, forensic and detailed speech that really showed his passion for the issue. I also thank the other Members who have spoken—there have been some really thoughtful, important contributions.
This issue impacts so many of our constituents. That is why we are taking action, as has been described, by providing that £5 billion of grant funding for the remediation of unsafe cladding, to support building safety. The hon. Gentleman noted at the start that the Minister for Housing, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher), and the Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall North (Eddie Hughes), are currently on the Building Safety Bill Committee. I know that they would like to be here to respond to his points, but it is my pleasure to respond on their behalf.
I want to give an overview of the work the Government have been doing, but I will try to come to the points he has raised and give him satisfactory answers. The £5 billion of grant funding specifically supports the remediation of unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings. This means that we will fund the cost of replacing unsafe cladding for leaseholders in residential buildings 18 metres and over in England. Work to remediate unsafe aluminium composite material cladding has progressed: 100% of high-rise buildings in the social housing sector identified as having that unsafe cladding at the start of last year have already been made safer or have remedial work under way. To date, the social sector ACM cladding remediation fund has approved £277 million of funding for the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM in England.
Social housing owners, with private sector leaseholders, may also be able to benefit from the finance scheme, which the Government have announced for all buildings from 11 metres to 18 metres in height. In the small number of cases where unsafe remediation may be necessary on buildings of that height, the scheme will protect leaseholders from unaffordable costs, by ensuring that no leaseholder will pay more than £50 a month towards the cost of cladding remediation.
Of course, in all of those cases, Government funding does not absolve building owners of their responsibility to ensure that their buildings are safe. They should consider all routes to meet costs, protecting leaseholders where they can. It is also right that the industry that caused this legacy of unsafe buildings contributes to setting things right. That is why we have consulted on a new residential property developer tax, which aims to raise around £2 billion over the next 10 years. We will also introduce a building safety levy on developers of high-rise buildings, which we plan to introduce at the gateway 2 stage of the new building safety regime.
Looking forward, the package of changes that we are making through the Building Safety Bill will help to ensure that the problems identified with the current building and fire-safety regimes are rectified. Those responsible for buildings where they are occupied, will be required actively to manage building safety risks, evidenced through a safety-case regime. The new regime will allow fire and structural hazards to be effectively and proportionately managed, mitigated and remedied, through effective steps that consider both safety and costs.
Building owners, including local authorities and social housing providers, will need to appoint a building safety manager, who will be responsible for the day-to-day management of fire and structural safety in the building, and must have the relevant competence to perform the role for that specific building. Residents of high-rise buildings will no longer be ignored when they raise safety concerns about their building, and the Bill will make securing resident and building safety a critical objective of the accountable person. The new building safety regulator will give residents a strong voice through a statutory residents' panel.
We will also use the powers in the Bill to make regulations that place duties on those who procure, plan and manage to undertake building work. That will ensure that the designs, as well as the building work, comply with building regulation requirements. The new regulator will also have new powers to ensure that those who are responsible for building safety are held to account if they fail to do the right thing.
We take electrical safety extremely seriously. We have introduced electrical safety regulations, where it is proportionate and practical to do so. Last year, as the hon. Member for Hammersmith highlighted, we introduced regulations requiring private landlords to ensure that electrical installations in their properties are inspected every five years. The social housing White Paper that we published last year sets out the actions that we will take to ensure that residents in social housing are safe, are listened to, live in good-quality homes and have access to redress when things go wrong.
Alongside the social housing White Paper, we published a consultation on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The proposed changes would make smoke alarms mandatory in all social rented homes and extend requirements for carbon monoxide alarms in both the private and socially rented sectors. We will be delivering the £12 billion affordable housing programme over five years, the largest investment in social housing in a decade. It will provide over 180,000 new homes, and 32,000 of those will be for social rent. That is more than double the current programme.
I know that there is a united desire to ensure that those living in high-rise social housing feel safe in their homes. We will restore the right for everyone in our country to live somewhere that is safe, decent and secure—a place that they are proud to call home.
▸
Assessment & feedback
Summary accuracy
About Westminster Hall Debates
Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.