Chamber and committees

As no one else wants to come in on that question, we will move on.

We are having technical difficulties—Laura Hughes and George Edwardes cannot hear us. I will temporarily suspend the meeting until we sort that out, because I want them to be part of the conversation. I apologise for that.

We have a request from George Edwardes to repeat the second question so that he can respond to it.

The regulations would prevent the use of highly combustible metal composite material in external cladding and insulation.

Is the definition of such material robust enough to ensure that the danger that is posed by that material has been reduced as far as is reasonably practicable?

Thank you for that response and that clear direction for us to be aware of.

Thank you for that useful detail.

Before drawing to a close, I want to give everyone the opportunity to say anything that they think we have not heard. Please indicate if you would like to come back in. I see that Chris Ashurst wants to do so.

As no one else wants to come in, I draw to a close what has been a rich evidence-taking session. You have given us plenty of directions to look in and things to be aware of, which will be tremendously helpful in giving everyone on the committee themes that we might discuss with the minister next week.

As agreed at the start of the meeting, the next item will be taken in private. I close the public part of the meeting.

Yes, we can.

I can always remind you.

Clearly, we face a very challenging situation. Does anyone else want to come in on the challenges?

Good morning and welcome to the 14th meeting in 2022 of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. I ask all members and witnesses to ensure that their mobile phones are on silent and that all other notifications are turned off during the meeting.

Agenda item 1 is to decide whether to take item 3 in private. Do members agree to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.