Parliamentary activity

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

On 10 March 2021 we issued a letter to fire safety professionals and building control bodies reminding them that Kingspan has retracted three test reports. The letter is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-building-control-bodies-on-the-retraction-of-three-tests-carried-out-on-kingspan-k15-insulation

The letter recommends that fire safety professionals and buildings control bodies review their records to check that any assessments they have carried out using these tests are identified and revisited in light of the information highlighted during the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. The content of this letter is not new and is simply a reminder of the steps they should take in light of this information.

On 5 July 2021, the Government introduced the Building Safety Bill which set out the biggest reforms to building safety regulation for a generation, including provisions to strengthen and extend the scope of the powers available to the Government to regulate construction products.

The Bill will require manufacturers to ensure that their products are safe before putting them on the United Kingdom market. It also paves the way for a national regulator for construction products being set up within the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) to oversee the new regime. The regulator will have robust inspection, market surveillance and enforcement capability so unsafe products can be removed from the market.

Answering body: Home Office

The Home Office will be consulting on Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) in high-rise residential settings shortly. This consultation follows the recent Fire Safety Consultation (FSC) which sought views on the recommendations in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report, details of this consultation can be found here.

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

We do not have any estimate of the number of buildings which will be affected by the retracted tests.

On 10 March 2021 we issued a letter to fire safety professionals and building control bodies reminding them that Kingspan has retracted three test reports. The letter is available here : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-building-control-bodies-on-the-retraction-of-three-tests-carried-out-on-kingspan-k15-insulation

The letter recommends that fire safety professionals and buildings control bodies review their records to check that any assessments they have carried out using these tests are identified and revisited in light of the information highlighted during the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. The content of this letter is not new and is simply a reminder of the steps they should take in light of this information.

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Government itself cannot impose fines but where building owners are failing to make acceptable progress in removing unsafe cladding then they should expect enforcement action by local authorities or Fire and Rescue Authorities. We have established a Joint Inspection Team to support local authorities in taking enforcement action where building owners are refusing to remediate high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding or are not making acceptable progress. Local authorities have a duty to take enforcement action under the Housing Act 2004 if they find the most serious ‘category 1’ hazards on residential premises and failure to comply with this can result in a financial penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court, which may result in a unlimited fine on conviction.

The Fire Safety Bill will also clarify that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the ‘Fire Safety Order’) applies to external wall systems and will put beyond doubt that Fire and Rescue Authorities can enforce against and where necessary, pursue prosecution if Responsible Persons or those otherwise responsible under the Fire Safety Order fail to take appropriate fire safety measures with regards to unsafe cladding in multi-occupied residential buildings. The highest financial penalty that can be imposed for non-compliance with the Fire Safety Order is an unlimited fine. It is for the Court to decide on a case-by-case basis what financial penalty should be allocated. Details of enforcement action taken or being taken by local authorities and Fire and Rescue Authorities in regard to the buildings with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding can be found on the Building Safety Programme Monthly Data Release which is available (attached) at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aluminium-composite-material-cladding#acm-remediation-data .

Answering body: Cabinet Office

As part of the Government transparency agenda, it is a legal requirement for central Government Departments to publish all awarded contracts over £10,000 in value on the Contracts Finder website. Once a contract for this recruitment has been finalised and signed it will be published in the usual way.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Further announcements will be made in the usual way.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Further announcements will be made in the usual way.

Answering body: Home Office

The Home Office is working collaboratively with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Fire and Rescue Sector and all relevant stakeholders to deliver Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 1 recommendations with quality, pace and ambition.

The Government published an update on delivery on 21 January and continues to make progress. As announced in the Queen’s Speech, we will shortly introduce a Fire Safety Bill, a necessary first step towards implementation of the Inquiry’s recommendations

Answering body: Cabinet Office

In February, the Prime Minister, as Sponsor Minister for the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, wrote to the Inquiry Chair to confirm his intention to appoint a replacement panel member. He also confirmed that Cabinet Office officials would engage a search company to identify a shortlist of candidates.

As soon as a suitable new panel member has been identified, the Prime Minister will write to the Inquiry Chair to seek his consent to the appointment as required by the Inquiries Act. The successful candidate will be announced once the process has been completed so they start work as soon as possible.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Inquiries Act 2005 empowers the Chair of an Inquiry to require the production of evidence, including from witnesses. The Prime Minister has received no requests for a witness statement from the Chair of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. The London Fire Commissioner (which replaced LFEPA in 2017) is a core participant in the Inquiry.

Answering body: Home Office

A public consultation on the implementation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report recommendations which require a change in law will be issued shortly. We have had early engagement with a range of stakeholders including the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Local Government Association, the Fire Industry Association, the Early Adopters group led by the Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government, the Devolved Administrations and a number of other government departments.

The public consultation will give all those affected, including the Grenfell community, individuals, residents’ groups, building owners/managers and representatives from the fire safety industry, the opportunity to make their voices heard.

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

The Home Office will bring forward legislation shortly to put beyond doubt that building owners and managers of all multi-occupied residential buildings must assess the risks from cladding and front doors to individual flats under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This legislation will:

require building owners to review their fire risk assessments to comprehensively cover all common parts of these buildings.

affirm that fire and rescue services can take appropriate enforcement action, in particular supporting the remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding in high rise buildings

provide the firm foundation required for taking forward recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase One report (accepted in principle by the Government in October 2019), which called for new legal duties on building owners for high-rise residential buildings around inspection and information sharing with Fire and Rescue Authorities. A consultation on Home Office proposals is due to be issued in the spring.

Additionally, the forthcoming Building Safety Bill will put a requirement on dutyholders to ensure accurate and up-to-date building safety information is available and accessible to those who need it. A Mandatory Occurrence Reporting system will be established by the Building Safety Regulator, and dutyholders will be required to report any structural safety or fire safety related event which is perceived by them to represent a significant risk to life, in buildings within the scope of the new regime.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Due diligence and consideration of conflicts of interest are important parts of any appointment process. The Inquiries Act 2005 sets out the suitability and impartiality requirements of inquiry panel appointments. Appointments to statutory public inquiries are made in accordance with the Act.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Ms Mehra's appointment was not a public appointment. She was appointed to the panel of a statutory public inquiry in line with the Inquiries Act 2005.

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

The Home Office will introduce a Fire Safety Bill in early 2020 which will put beyond doubt that owners or managers of multi-occupied residential buildings need to fully consider and mitigate the risks of external wall systems and front doors to individual flats.

The Fire Safety Bill will create a firm foundation to enable the Government to lay regulations to deliver the legislative recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report, including in relation to personal evacuation plans for residents whose ability to evacuate may be compromised. A consultation on the Grenfell Tower Phase 1 legislative recommendations is planned for spring 2020.

In addition, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has committed to bringing forward a Building Safety Bill. In our consultation, Building a Safer Future: proposals for reform of the building safety regulatory system, we set out proposals to create an enhanced safety framework for high-rise residential buildings. This included proposals for residents of buildings in scope of this new regime to receive key safety information about their building, which would include details about how to notify their ‘building safety manager’ if their ability to evacuate may be compromised. We will publish the response to our consultation shortly and will introduce legislation at the earliest opportunity.

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

The steps which the Department took in relation to the guidance in Approved Document B are matters that will be looked at in the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.

Answering body: Home Office

The Government accepts, in principle, all the recommendations made of central Government in Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry’s Phase One report and will work at pace to take these forward. This may include bringing forward legislation ahead of the Bill on building safety standards announced in the Queen’s Speech if that would mean the Inquiry’s recommendations can be implemented sooner.

We are currently analysing responses to our Call for Evidence on the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and intend to publish a formal response after the General Election.

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Following the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, our implementation plan set out a far-reaching work programme to deliver a reformed building safety system. In addition to the findings of the Review, we have considered a wide range of evidence, views and concerns expressed since the Grenfell Tower fire including representations to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry; over 200 responses to the Review’s Final Report, gathered in a listening exercise over the summer; and a report from the House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee. The consultation published on 6 June, Building a safer future: proposals for reform of the building safety regulatory system, invites views from the public and all interested stakeholders on how we propose to take forward meaningful legislative reform.

The Competence Steering Group and its sub-working groups were established by the construction and fire safety sectors in response to the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. Their remit is to develop proposals for a robust and coherent overarching system for overseeing competence requirements, and to raise competence within relevant disciplines involved in the design, construction, inspection, maintenance and management of buildings in scope of the Review. The Group expects to publish its full report covering recommendations from all working groups in June 2019 for an industry-led consultation. More information on the Competence Steering Group and its working groups can be found in the group’s second quarterly report published on the Construction Industry Council’s website: http://cic.org.uk/admin/resources/second-quarterly-report-october-2019-electronic-version.pdf.

The industry safety steering group (ISSG) has been established to encourage culture change across industry and to monitor industry’s progress with implementing the recommendations in the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. The terms of reference for the group are published on GOV.UK https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/801470/TOR.pdf.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

I refer the Right Honourable Member to my answer given to Question 246580 on 30 April 2019.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The timing and handling of the Inquiry is a matter for the independent Inquiry and the Government hopes that the report for phase 1 will be published soon.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has already begun Phase 2 with the ongoing disclosure of thousands of documents to core participants. Phase 2 of the Inquiry will address the design and modification of the building; the fire and safety measures within it; the management, governance and inspection of the tower; and the steps taken in the days immediately following the fire to support those whose homes had been destroyed. The Inquiry expects the Phase 2 hearings to begin in early 2020.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The timing and handling of the Inquiry is a matter for the independent Inquiry and the Government hopes that the report for phase 1 will be published soon.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has already begun Phase 2 with the ongoing disclosure of thousands of documents to core participants. Phase 2 of the Inquiry will address the design and modification of the building; the fire and safety measures within it; the management, governance and inspection of the tower; and the steps taken in the days immediately following the fire to support those whose homes had been destroyed. The Inquiry expects the Phase 2 hearings to begin in early 2020

Answering body: Cabinet Office

I refer the Right Honourable Member to my answer given to Question 246580 on 30 April 2019.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Government set up the independent Grenfell Tower Inquiry to get to the truth of what happened, deliver justice for victims, survivors, bereaved families and the wider community, and to ensure that such a terrible tragedy could never happen again. The timing and handling of the Inquiry is a matter for the independent Inquiry and the Government hopes that the report for phase 1 will be published soon.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The process of identifying suitable panel members is underway. Prior to the appointment of panel members, the Prime Minister will consult with the Chair of the Inquiry and seek his consent as required by the Inquiries Act 2005. An announcement will be made as soon as this process is completed.

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

This is a matter for the Grenfell Tower Inquiry which will be looking specifically at recommendations received from experts, professionals and trade bodies, and what steps were taken by Central Government in response to these recommendations.