Unsafe insulation raised by Ipswich MP
Tom Hunt joined a debate in Parliament
Last updated 1st Mar 2021
The issue of unsafe insulation on buildings has been raised by the MP for Ipswich in Parliament.
Tom Hunt was speaking in the debate on the Fire Safety Bill in support of the McPartland Smith Amendment, which was designed to protect leaseholders from unfair costs of rectifying the issue of unsafe insulation within their buildings. The amendment wasn't accepted and MPs didn't vote on it.
Mr Hunt said:
"The Minister did seem to be open to compromise though which was welcome.
"I have previously welcomed the support that Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced. The £3.5 billion fund to remove unsafe cladding from buildings over 18m will benefit many of my constituents. This is on top of the already existing £1.6 billion Fire Safety Fund. My first surgery appointment after my election involved me meeting with St Francis Tower leaseholders and I’m glad that since that meeting there has been progress and they no longer have uncertainty hanging over them.
"But I made it clear again that, while this is a good start, this support doesn’t touch a number of my constituents affected by unsafe insulation. Many of those in Ipswich who have come to me since my election still have this uncertainty hanging over their lives which is unacceptable.
"The Minister stated that the Building Safety Bill that will be brought forward shortly will be an opportunity for Government legislation to pick up on the issues raised by the amendment that I signed. I plan to work closely with Government to try and make sure this is the case.
"I made a promise to my constituents that I would leave no leaseholder behind, yet sadly there are still a significant number of leaseholders who do feel left behind and this needs to be addressed. I’ve worked closely with Minister’s over the past couple of days to try and secure the assurances I need on behalf of my constituents but we’re not currently where we need to be which is why I was prepared to vote for the amendment today."