I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 3760 on 21 January 2020; the report will be published shortly.

In September 2019 the Department announced the provision of £4 million new burdens funding to support local authorities with the External Wall Systems data collection. This funding allows local authorities to collect data on their own social stock, and on the private residential stock, hotels and student accommodation in their areas.

No estimate has been made of the cost to housing associations to provide data on their own social residential properties.

The Department has regular engagement with residents living in buildings with unsafe cladding, including correspondence from residents of Radnor House.

For buildings which require non-ACM remedial works, residents’ safety remains this Government's utmost priority and there is no excuse for building owners not ensuring that residents are safe in their homes. Government will continue to support leaseholders and is reviewing options on how best to do so.

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.

The Government has taken urgent action on building safety, including committing £600 million for remediating unsafe ACM cladding on high-rise buildings in the social and private sectors. Government intervention is wholly exceptional and based on the unparalleled fire risk ACM poses.

Residents’ safety remains this Government's utmost priority and there is no excuse for building owners not ensuring that residents are safe in their homes. Government will continue to support leaseholders and is reviewing options on how best to do so.

Local authorities have been asked to undertake a data collection exercise on residential buildings 18 metres and over in height to identify their external wall systems – including their external facing materials and their insulation. The responsibility for collecting and providing information for the data collection lies with local authorities and housing associations. Local authorities have powers under Section 235 of the Housing Act 2004 to require building owners to provide documentation. This may be used to require information on the external wall system of a building, which includes insulation. New burdens funding has been provided to local authorities to offer support for the completion of the External Wall Systems data collection.

Local authorities and housing associations have been asked to undertake a data collection exercise on residential buildings 18 metres and over in height to identify their external wall systems. The responsibility for collecting and providing information for the data collection lies with local authorities and housing associations.

The Department published a technical note on 18 July 2019 to provide local authorities and housing associations with additional support in identifying the details of external wall systems of buildings above 18 metres. Subsequently, in September 2019 we announced the provision of £4 million new burdens funding to support local authorities with the data collection.

The Department is in regular contact with local authorities and housing associations to support them as they carry out the data collection.

Government will continue to support the industry to refine the process for valuing buildings with cladding.  Building owners must be forthcoming with any information on the cladding used, responding promptly to residents and valuer enquiries.

Acting on advice from the Expert Panel, the government has commissioned research from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to support further understanding of the fire performance of Non-Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) external wall systems. This includes bespoke medium scale tests on timber cladding panels

The results of this research will be published shortly. So far, the results show that none of the materials tested present as significant a fire hazard as ACM (and other metal composites) with unmodified polyethylene core.

Subject to the research findings, a decision will be made as to the testing of further materials used on external wall systems, including timber cladding. This may include tests at large medium or small scale. We currently have no plan to commission a large-scale fire safety test on systems, incorporating timber cladding or expanded polystyrene.

Acting on advice from the Expert Panel, the government has commissioned research from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to support further understanding of the fire performance of Non-Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) external wall systems. This includes bespoke medium scale tests on timber cladding panels

The results of this research will be published shortly. So far, the results show that none of the materials tested present as significant a fire hazard as ACM (and other metal composites) with unmodified polyethylene core.

Subject to the research findings, a decision will be made as to the testing of further materials used on external wall systems, including timber cladding. This may include tests at large medium or small scale. We currently have no plan to commission a large-scale fire safety test on systems, incorporating timber cladding or expanded polystyrene.

The Department does not hold this information. The Government has committed £200 million for the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on private sector residential high-rise buildings.

We are aware of concerns leaseholders have about meeting the cost of remediation of fire safety issues other than ACM cladding remediation. Building safety is the responsibility of the building owner, and they should consider all routes to meet costs, to protect leaseholders – for example through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work. However, we do not want the cost to be a barrier to remediation, so the Department is considering options to support leaseholders with Her Majesty’s Treasury.

Information on the progress of applications to the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund is reported in the monthly building safety programme data releases, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aluminium-composite-material-cladding#acm-remediation-data.

The safety of students and staff across the education estate remains a high priority. Since the Grenfell fire, the department has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on fire safety. In line with the cross-government approach, we identified university-owned residential buildings over 18 metres with potentially dangerous aluminium composite material cladding. In the light of updated building safety guidance for owners of residential buildings published on 20 January 2020 by MHCLG, the department will gather any additional information required on residential buildings across the education estate, and we will continue to work with building owners to ensure that any subsequent remediation work, if any, is undertaken. The department does not hold information on cladding of non-residential university buildings.

The safety of students and staff across the education estate remains a high priority. Since the Grenfell fire, the department has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on fire safety. In line with the cross-government approach, we identified university-owned residential buildings over 18 metres with potentially dangerous aluminium composite material cladding. In the light of updated building safety guidance for owners of residential buildings published on 20 January 2020 by MHCLG, the department will gather any additional information required on residential buildings across the education estate, and we will continue to work with building owners to ensure that any subsequent remediation work, if any, is undertaken. The department does not hold information on cladding of non-residential university buildings.

The safety of students and staff across the education estate remains a high priority. Since the Grenfell fire, the department has worked closely with the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on fire safety. In line with the cross-government approach, we identified university-owned residential buildings over 18 metres with potentially dangerous aluminium composite material cladding. In the light of updated building safety guidance for owners of residential buildings published on 20 January 2020 by MHCLG, the department will gather any additional information required on residential buildings across the education estate, and we will continue to work with building owners to ensure that any subsequent remediation work, if any, is undertaken. The department does not hold information on cladding of non-residential university buildings.

The Department has had regular correspondence and engagement with leaseholders living in buildings with unsafe cladding, and we are aware of the concerns they have. The Government’s priority is to ensure that unsafe ACM cladding is removed and replaced so that residents feel safe in their homes. The Department has engaged with a named contact for each building to ensure progress is being made.

Information from the Report has been shared with the Expert Panel, Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.

I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 6113 on 21 January 2020. The results of the bespoke non-ACM tests  research will be published shortly.