Thread by @LiamSpender

1/15 #BuildingSafetyBill with everything else going on today, I expect this will fall down the headlines.

Starting at roughly 2 p.m. this afternoon the Commons will conduct the Report and Third Reading stages of the Bill.

2/15 Unfortunately due to work commitments this afternoon, I won't be able to live tweet the proceedings.

Here is a thread with some details on what is happening today.

3/15 Report and Third Reading are the final stages of Commons consideration.

After today, the Bill will move on to the House of Lords where it will go through its stages there (First Reading, Second Reading, Committee, Report and Third Reading).

4/15 The amendments being considered today are here: publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill…

The order in which they will be considered is here: publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill…

5/15 The timing of today is that Report must be completed by 6 p.m. today.

Amendments adding new clauses and schedules and Part 5 of the Bill will be dealt with first (to 4 p.m.)

From 4-6 the rest of the Bill will be considered.

3rd Reading will follow, to be completed by 7.

6/15 Very little has changed with the wording of the Bill since it completed its Committee stage in October 2021.

We have, of course, heard Michael Gove's announcement last week that he expects developers to pay to cover cladding and fire safety risks in all buildings above 11m.

7/15 In terms of actual changes to the text, the government has tabled amendments to extend the period for bringing claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 to 30 years (15 years for future buildings).

This is welcome, but unlikely to be of use to most leaseholders.

8/15 The government has also tabled changes to the to the special measures regime, which a building can be put into by the new Building Safety Regulator if the accountable person(s) do not carry out their duties properly.

9/15 These changes are slight improvements for leaseholders. The changes require more financial details to be given regarding the regulator's plan for any special measures.

The amendments also give powers to the gov't to give grants and loans to a building in special measures.

10/15 The government has also tabled changes to the future building safety charge, which extend protection from forfeiture to that charge.

The issue is that the charge remains in the Bill, but the protection from forfeiture is welcome.

11/15 The real issue is that Michael Gove's promise to leaseholders is not yet written into the draft law.

We are promised that this commitment will be written into the Bill during its passage through the House of Lords.

12/15 One of the key things to watch for today is whether the government gives any more details of how it proposes to protect leaseholders and its proposed changes in the Lords.

13/15 Both Lords and Commons will have to agree on the same text of the Bill before it can become law.

If the government does as it promises and changes the Bill in the Lords, it will have to come back to the Commons to be agreed.

14/15 If the government does not do what it promises in the Lords, leaseholders will (rightly) be expecting MPs to challenge the government when the Bill comes back to the Commons later this Spring.

15/15 You can watch proceedings live here from roughly 2 p.m. today: parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/e0…