Building owners could face unlimited fines for breaching fire safety regulations, following new measures being brought in to strengthen fire safety.
The Home Office announced that as part of the government’s work to ensure people are safe in their homes, these limitless fines will also be handed out to anyone caught obstructing or impersonating a fire inspector, in addition to those breaching fire safety regulations under the Fire Safety Order.
These new measures, announced as part of the government’s response to the Fire Safety Consultation, will come into force as part of the legislation in the Building Safety Bill, which aims to create the first national Building Safety Regulator and overhaul the way buildings are designed, built and managed when occupied.
The measures will amend the Fire Safety Order and will require fire risk assessments to be recorded for each building and improve how fire safety information is handed over throughout the lifetime of a building.
The Home Office has also announced a further cash boost of £10 million for Fire and Rescue Authorities across England, in addition to the £6 million already announced in the Fire COVID-19 Contingency Fund.
The new measures include:
- Improve the quality of fire risk assessments and competence of those who complete them
- Ensure vital fire safety information is preserved over the lifespan of all regulated buildings
- Improve cooperation and coordination amongst people responsible for fire safety, and making it easier to identify who they are
- Strengthen enforcement action, with anyone impersonating or obstructing a fire inspector facing unlimited fines
- Strengthen guidance issued under the Fire Safety Order, so that failure to follow it may be considered in court proceedings as evidence of a breach or of compliance
- Improve the engagement between Building Control Bodies and Fire Authorities in reviewing plans for building work
- Require all new flats above 11m to install premises information boxes.
Official inputs…
Speaking about the announcement, Fire Minister Lord Greenhalgh said: “Everyone should be safe in the buildings where they live, stay or work.
“Our new measures will not only improve fire safety and help save lives, but also take firm action against those who fail in their duty to keep people safe.”
Meanwhile, Roy Wilsher, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, added: “We welcome the government’s response to its own fire safety consultation and the continued investment in fire and rescue services protection work.
“Ultimately, we want to see safer buildings for residents and are committed to working constructively with the Home Office and other partners on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations and other key fire safety policy areas.”
The government intends to launch a further consultation on personal emergency evacuation plans this spring to seek additional views on implementing the relevant Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations.
The Home Office intends, subject to the Fire Safety Bill receiving Royal Assent, to lay regulations before the second anniversary of the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 1 Report, which will deliver on the Inquiry’s recommendations.
