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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to embed fire safety measures in all newly built and renovated housing and public buildings.

The Government is committed to ensuring that fire safety is embedded in all new and refurbished buildings.

The Building Regulations 2010 set functional requirements for fire safety in new building work, including new builds, extensions, material alterations, and certain changes of use, the Regulations are support by statutory guidance – Approved Document B (Fire Safety). Under the Building Safety Act 2022, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has a duty to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review.

Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the Government has implemented a series of reforms to strengthen fire safety in new and existing buildings. These include:

• A ban on the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of relevant buildings over 18 metres in height, introduced in 2018 and extended in 2022 to include additional building types.
• Requirements for sprinklers in new blocks of flats with a storey over 11 metres, and for wayfinding signage for firefighters in such buildings.
• Guidance on the provision of evacuation alert systems in new residential buildings over 18 metres, and secure information boxes in buildings with storeys over 11 metres.
• Enhanced requirements under Regulation 38 for the provision of fire safety information at handover, and the withdrawal of outdated national fire test classifications (BS 476) in favour of the European classification system.
• From 30 September 2026, new residential buildings with a storey at or above 18 metres will be required to include a second staircase, with transitional arrangements in place.

To ensure fire safety is considered from the earliest stages of development, Planning Gateway One was introduced in August 2021. It requires developers of relevant high-rise residential buildings to submit a fire statement with their planning applications and establishes the Health and Safety Executive as a statutory consultee.

For existing and renovated buildings, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places duties on the responsible person to carry out and regularly review a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, and to implement appropriate fire precautions.

In response to the Phase II Grenfell Inquiry Report, The Government has committed to keeping Approved Document B under continuous review.