THE government does not know how long it takes, or how much it costs to get access to properties to undertake statutory gas safety checks, Hyndburn and Haslingden MP Graham Jones found in Parliament.

The Labour MP asked what estimates the Department for Communities and Local Government held about the average time and cost to housing associations for gaining entry.

Minister of state Brandon Lewis replied: “My department has made no estimate of the average time taken to grant access to properties, or of the costs involved, for housing associations to undertake statutory gas safety checks or the costs involved.”