Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate the Department has made of the number of commercial fire engineers who are employed in advising mortgage providers and industry on high rise and complex building safety.

As indicated in my answer to Question UIN 75346 on 24 July 2020, the Department does not hold data on the number of commercial fire engineers. The Institution of Fire Engineers has informed MHCLG that there are around 291 chartered fire engineers who can carry out an EWS1 survey. Nonetheless, the Department is aware that there are challenges around availability of professionals to undertake fire safety assessments, including those who are employed in advising mortgage providers and industry on high rise and complex building safety. We are working with professional bodies to increase the number of skilled professionals who can undertake external wall assessments where one is required.