TABLE Floor area of room Number of persons 110 sq.ft. or more 2 90 sq.ft. or more but less than 110 sq.ft. 1.5 70 sq.ft. or more but less than 90 sq.ft. 1 50 sq.ft. or more but less than 70 sq.ft. 0.5 Floor area of room Number of persons 110 sq.ft. or more 2 90 sq.ft. or more but less than 110 sq.ft. 1.5 70 sq.ft. or more but less than 90 sq.ft. 1 50 sq.ft. or more but less than 70 sq.ft. 0.5
Housing Bill
11:15 am
Mr Keith Hill (Minister of State (Housing and Planning), Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; Streatham, Labour)
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I shall try to be brief. He raised the issue of appeals and the 28 days. I remind him that action is taken and the appeal takes place simultaneously. The force of the new provisions is precisely to ensure that the emergency remedial action takes place while the appeal process is going on. There is a debate about serious harm, but I contend that there is a difference between an imminent danger of a wall collapsing on the occupant of premises and a building collapsing to the detriment of local housing.
Finally, I accept that there is sometimes a problem—to which we will return—with the borderlines between category 1 and category 2 hazards. However, I put it to the hon. Gentleman
that a category 2 hazard such as mould is evidently not as risky in terms of contributing to serious injury as are the collapsing walls, exposed live wires and faulty staircases that we have talked about. To that extent, there is a clear common-sense distinction with regard
to what justifies emergency action under the terms of the Bill.
It being twenty-five minutes past Eleven o'clock, The Chairman adjourned the Committee without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
Adjourned till this day at half-past Two o'clock.