A Fifth Fewer Building Regulation Consultations on Fire Risks

THE NUMBER OF building regulation consultations with the Fire and Rescue Services has dropped by almost 20% in the 12 months to April 2021.

The new figures published by the Home Office show that the Fire and Rescue Services carried out 41,105 building inspections, a reduction, from the financial year 2019 to 2020 (50,812).

Building Regulation Consultations on Fire

The highest proportion of building regulation consultations in the financial year 2020 to 2021 were for shops – 16% or 6,767.

Last year, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government estimated there to be up to 480 high rise buildings employing a waking watch service to alert residents to a fire at an average cost of £17,800 per month, per building. The number of residents living with fire risks and waking watches was 26,800.

The new Building Safety Bill being made law after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 introduces a new system for overseeing building control functions. The government says the bill will create clearer accountability for the safety of higher-risk buildings throughout design, construction and occupation. It will have stronger enforcement and sanctions.

Building regulation consultations with the Fire and Rescue Services by building control bodies are a legal requirement. They check that buildings are designed to minimise fire risk and are protected by fire prevention and response measures. Most fires that the Fire and Rescue Services respond to occur in buildings.

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