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Written question asked by Mike Amesbury (Labour) on Monday, 15 April 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 April 2024. It was answered by Lee Rowley (Conservative) on Tuesday, 23 April 2024 on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what criteria a company must meet in order to be included on the Homes England Fire Risk Assessor Panel and authorised to carry out FRAEWs for buildings in the Cladding Safety Scheme.

Answer

To join the Fire Risk Assessor Panel firms must sign a participation agreement which sets out the terms for the panel and eligibility criteria. Along with agreeing to follow Homes England processes set out in the scheme guidance and use the correct scheme documents, firms must have:

  • Relevant professional qualification to undertake fire risk appraisals as per PAS 9980 guidance
  • Access to chartered engineers to perform complex assessments when needed
  • ISO 9001 approach to quality control
  • Professional Indemnity Insurance

Membership is renewed annually with firms having to provide evidence of their PII insurance and self-certification of qualifications and experience of firm assessors. The use of PAS 9980 and proportionality is assured by sample audit.

Since the scheme went live, four firms have left the panel through their own accord. Two pulled out due to resourcing issues and their inability to commit to meeting service level agreements and two others left due to them not receiving any business from being on the panel.

To date, Homes England have not had to remove any firms due to performance however Homes England can exercise this option should they need to.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
21810
Session
2023-24
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Fire prevention Repairs and maintenance Risk assessment High rise flats Cladding safety scheme
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk