Written question asked by Lord Boateng (Labour) on Friday, 8 March 2024, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 22 March 2024. It was answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Conservative) on Friday, 22 March 2024 on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Buildings: Construction

Question: To ask His Majesty's Government what communication they have had with the governments of (1) Italy, and (2) Spain, about the regulation of building materials used in the construction of high-rise dwellings.

Answer: Government regularly looks at construction practices in other jurisdictions, seeks to learn from any significant incidents and, where appropriate, are always willing to share our experiences with other countries and collaborate further. We should be mindful though that construction practices and methods can be quite different across different countries and so the actions and mechanisms that the UK has put in place would not necessarily be directly transferrable. Experts from the UK participate in both the CEN and ISO committees which facilitate the sharing of international standards. The UK is a member of the Inter-jurisdictional Regula-tory Collaboration Committee (IRCC) which promotes effective international collaboration concerning ‘best current practice’ building regulatory systems.

Secondary information