Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 25
25
Accepted
Paragraph: 155
The Government must invest now in further research and safety testing on the use of...
Recommendation
The Government must invest now in further research and safety testing on the use of structural timber. The outcome of such research must inform a review of all relevant building regulations so as to render them properly applicable to modern timber materials and to ensure that fire safety regulations can take account of how modern timber materials behave in fire. The Government’s response to the consultation on proposed amendments to the combustible materials ban must now include clarification of the Government’s position of structural timber in the ban on combustible materials. The Government’s response to the consultation should be issued at the latest before the House rises for the 2022 summer recess.
Government Response Summary
The government has committed to encouraging research into barriers to uptake of timber in construction, including looking at timber strength grades and the fire resistance of engineered timber structures. The government also published its response to the combustibles ban consultation in June.
Paragraph Reference:
155
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government has committed to encouraging research into barriers to uptake of timber in construction, including looking at timber strength grades and the fire resistance of engineered timber structures. We will use the Timber in Construction Working Group to collate existing research and identify new areas of research focus. The Government has also committed to research into structural fire safety by late 2023 as part of the approved document B review, in which timber will be included. The Government is also engaging with industry to understand what research they currently have underway, and what they may be planning to undertake in the near future, to build a more robust evidence base for timber construction, especially at height. This will include asking industry to identify where gaps in the evidence base have been identified. Once the evidence base has been developed further, we would encourage industry to consider whether further guidance could be developed to ensure that people are and feel safe in buildings. The Government published its response to the combustibles ban consultation in June and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-the-ban-on- the-use-of-combustible-materials-in-and-on-the-external-walls-of-buildings. There are further details included in the response to recommendation 21.