The department has not held discussions with Scotfield Ltd about unsafe cladding at The Gateway Building in Leeds. The Government is providing £5.1 billion, including £4.5 billion from the Building Safety Fund, to address the fire safety risks caused by unsafe cladding on high-rise residential buildings.

The Gateway Building has applied to the Building Safety Fund and has been allocated £1.9 million upfront funding for pre-tender support to help get the remediation project out-to-tender. The overall expected cost of the remediation project at the Gateway Building to be funded by the Building Safety Fund is estimated at £16 million.

The English Housing Survey collects a range of information about England's housing stock, including the insulation and construction of dwellings and whether occupants have reported that parts of their home get overheated. According to the 2020-21 survey, occupants in dwellings built with timber, concrete or steel frames or with insulated cavity walls were more likely to report overheating (between 9% and 18%) than those living in masonry or uninsulated solid walled dwellings (between 5% and 8%).

The findings also show that dwelling construction types vary by region. London had the lowest proportion of masonry dwellings and the highest proportion of concrete dwellings compared with other regions.

On 13 July we published the draft of a contract with developers. The draft contract, once finalised and executed, will turn the commitments made in the pledge into a legally binding agreement.

Publication marks the start of a four-week period of engagement, during which we will refine the contract as necessary. As well as discussing the contract with developers during this period, we will engage other interested parties including representatives of building owners, managing agents, residents, leaseholders, lenders and insurers.

We plan to have the terms of the contract finalised by 10 August. We expect developers to have signed the contract by the end of September.

The Government is launching a new 11 to 18 metres cladding remediation scheme to fund work on buildings where a responsible developer cannot be identified. The new scheme will be funded by expanding the scope of the Building Safety Levy to raise an additional estimated £3 billion, providing the necessary funds to address cladding issues on these remaining buildings. We will announce further detail on the launch of the 11-18 metres Remediation Fund in due course.

The requirement for and use of EWS1 forms is determined by the lending policies of banks and building societies. Not all lenders ask for an EWS1 form, but when or whether they do remains a commercial decision. Data published by the department on 19 May 2022 demonstrates that lenders require EWS1 forms for fewer than 1 in 10 mortgage valuations for flats.

Major lenders confirmed in a statement on the 15 July, that the Building Safety Act means that they will lend on properties impacted by building safety issues on the basis of a qualifying lease certificate, subject to lenders’ individual lending policies.

The leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act came into force on 28 June 2022. This means qualifying leaseholders in England can no longer be charged for cladding remediation. There are legal protections in place for non-cladding costs which are capped and spread over ten years.

Furthermore, qualifying leaseholders in properties valued at below £325,00 in Greater London and £175,000 elsewhere in England will be protected from all cladding and non-cladding costs.

We are working with lenders to ensure that a qualifying lease certificate will provide all necessary assurances for mortgage decisions.

Unmodified polystyrene ceiling tiles do not comply with Part B of the Building Regulations (fire) and should not be used in new buildings.