Published alongside the draft Building Safety Bill, the Home Office has opened a new fire safety consultation as part of the government’s package of reform to improve building and fire safety in all regulated premises where people live, stay or work and to deliver key Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations.
The fire safety consultation contains proposals to:
- Strengthen the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and improve compliance;
- Implement the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report recommendations that require a change in law to place new requirements on building owners or managers of multi-occupied residential buildings, mostly high-rise buildings; and
- Strengthen the regulatory framework for how building control bodies consult with Fire and Rescue Authorities and the handover of fire safety information.
The government is determined to continue to learn the lessons from the Grenfell Tower fire, and reform building and fire safety to ensure that such a tragedy can never happen again.
The consultation itself and supporting documents are available here.
The consultation closes at 11:45pm on 12 October 2020.