Parliamentary activity

Answering body: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Speeding up the remediation of buildings is absolutely critical. Seven years on from Grenfell, action has been far too slow and the fire in Dagenham is a horrific reminder of the risk unsafe cladding still poses to far too many people. This Government will expect more from regulators to make sure action is being taken now to make homes safe, speed up remediation and ensure that buildings in the process of being remediated are managed safely for residents. Alongside taking action to increase the pace of remediation, we are also committed to better protect leaseholders from the costs of remediation. Following consideration of the phase 2 report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, we will announce further measures to accelerate remediation and protect leaseholders.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The issue of electrical surges was considered in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 report, which focused on the causes of the fire. There were longstanding concerns raised by residents about electrical “surges” affecting appliances within the Tower. As stated in the report, RINA Consulting (RINA) were retained by the Metropolitan Police to assess the electrical supply and distribution infrastructure. RINA found no damage or significant degradation (other than that caused by the fire) nor any major defects in the electrical supply system. RINA found no evidence to suggest that the electrical infrastructure of the Tower was in any way responsible for the fire.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a statutory Inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005. Under the terms of the Act, the drafting of an inquiry final report and the timing of that process are both matters for the independent Chair of the inquiry.

The Inquiry publishes regular updates on the progress of its final report. In their April 2024 Newsletter published on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website at https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/news/april-2024-newsletter, they emphasised that the current phase of the inquiry is reaching its final stages, and reiterated their commitment and determination to publish the report as soon as possible. Further updates to timelines will be published on the website as and when they become known.

Answering body: Home Office

The Government is committed to delivering against the recommendations made in the Grenfell Tower Phase 1 report.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, delivering the majority of the recommendations to Government, have now come into force, and most recently we have published guidelines to the Fire and Rescue Service to support their role in evacuation, meeting a further Inquiry recommendation.

The remaining four recommendations to Government concern evacuation. Three of these are addressed in the proposals in the Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing Plus consultation, and for the fourth, concerning evacuation alert systems, this has been met for new high rise residential buildings, and the Home Office is undertaking further work regarding existing buildings, including developing an evidence base of existing evacuation alert systems.

Answering body: Home Office

The Government has run two public consultations on supporting the evacuation and fire safety of vulnerable residents (which includes disabled residents) in light of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations concerning Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs).

The first consultation found substantial difficulties in mandating PEEPs in high-rise residential buildings, focussed on practicality, proportionality and safety.

The Government consulted upon a different package of measures during Summer 2022 – the Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing Plus consultation – and is now considering the responses to this, alongside the responses to its accompanying calls for evidence, and will publish a response in due course.

Answering body: Home Office

The Government publishes a detailed bi-annual progress tracker on implementation of the Phase 1 recommendations. The next iteration is due to be published shortly.

The tracker can be found on the gov.uk website under Grenfell Progress Tracker. The June 2023 tracker reported the following overall completion rates:

31 of the 46 recommendations completed overall.

10 out of 15 recommendations for Government (more detail on the five outstanding recommendations, which relate to evacuation, is set out below).

13 out of the 14 for LFB only.

1 out of the 9 for all FRSs. FRSs have, however, reported to the NFCC completion of 91% of their actions on average, but national recommendations cannot be signed off as complete until all 44 services have completed all actions in full.

7 out of 8 for other bodies including other emergency services.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Government supports the independent Grenfell Tower Inquiry, through which we may understand the truth about the circumstances leading to the tragedy.

We remain committed to ensuring bereaved, survivors and residents get the support they need for the long term, including throughout the Inquiry process. My department continues to work closely with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and health partners to ensure there are services available to support the evolving needs of the community; this includes physical and emotional wellbeing services.

In addition, the government has funded legal representation for all bereaved, survivors and residents who are core participants to the Inquiry to ensure they are not disadvantaged. Those who attended the Inquiry hearings have had their daily travel and subsistence costs covered. These costs are government funded and administered by the Inquiry.

The department has a dedicated community engagement team who are also available to meet families individually or in a small groups with other families – however they feel most comfortable - and will continue to support the recovery of those affected.

Answering body: Home Office

The Government published the 6th bi-annual progress tracker on implementation of the Phase 1 recommendations on 29 June on gov.uk and Fire England.

This reported that 31 of the 46 recommendations have been completed overall. This includes the following completion rates:

· 10 out of 15 recommendations for Government.

· 13 out of the 14 for LFB only.

· 1 out of the 9 for all fire and rescue services (FRSs). FRSs have, however, reported completion rates of 91% of their actions on average, but national recommendations cannot be signed off as complete until all 44 services have completed all actions in full.

7 out of 8 for other bodies including other emergency services.

Government remains committed to overseeing the delivery of all of the Phase 1 recommendations. The 7th tracker is due to be published shortly and will report on the further progress made by FRSs and Government.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a statutory Inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 2005. Under the terms of the Act, the drafting of an inquiry final report and the timing of that process are both matters for the independent Chair of the inquiry.

In their April 2023 Newsletter published on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website at https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/news/april-2023-newsletter, the Inquiry recognised the desire for the report to be published as soon as possible.

They noted that ‘The Inquiry hopes to complete the drafting of the report before the end of 2023. Various practical steps will then need to follow, such as proof-reading, typesetting and printing, all of which take time. We shall send the report to the Prime Minister, as required by our terms of reference, as soon as we can but that will probably not be possible before the beginning of next year.’

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Department welcomes the views of industry on all the measures proposed in our December 2022 consultation, including on testing capacity and transition periods for the proposed changes. In this consultation we are proposing to remove the national classification from Approved Document B and utilise the more robust and up to date internationally recognised standard. During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the use of the national classification system came under scrutiny, and flaws in its use were presented in the oral expert evidence. The BS 476 series standards have not been reviewed by the British Standards Institution in detail for some time (over 20 years on average). In addition, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower and following an investigation by the Department several issues were highlighted with the consistency of fire resistance performance of some fire doors.

Upon completion of the public consultation, and subsequent analysis of the responses, the department will publish, alongside the government response, a full regulatory impact assessment which will include a detailed assessment of the impacts of the changes to the guidance. This assessment will be informed by the responses to the consultation and the evidence provided.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Department welcomes the views of industry on all the measures proposed in our December 2022 consultation, including on testing capacity and transition periods for the proposed changes. In this consultation we are proposing to remove the national classification from Approved Document B and utilise the more robust and up to date internationally recognised standard. During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the use of the national classification system came under scrutiny, and flaws in its use were presented in the oral expert evidence. The BS 476 series standards have not been reviewed by the British Standards Institution in detail for some time (over 20 years on average). In addition, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower and following an investigation by the Department several issues were highlighted with the consistency of fire resistance performance of some fire doors.

Upon completion of the public consultation, and subsequent analysis of the responses, the department will publish, alongside the government response, a full regulatory impact assessment which will include a detailed assessment of the impacts of the changes to the guidance. This assessment will be informed by the responses to the consultation and the evidence provided.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Department welcomes the views of industry on all the measures proposed in our December 2022 consultation, including on testing capacity and transition periods for the proposed changes. In this consultation we are proposing to remove the national classification from Approved Document B and utilise the more robust and up to date internationally recognised standard. During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the use of the national classification system came under scrutiny, and flaws in its use were presented in the oral expert evidence. The BS 476 series standards have not been reviewed by the British Standards Institution in detail for some time (over 20 years on average). In addition, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower and following an investigation by the Department several issues were highlighted with the consistency of fire resistance performance of some fire doors.

Upon completion of the public consultation, and subsequent analysis of the responses, the department will publish, alongside the government response, a full regulatory impact assessment which will include a detailed assessment of the impacts of the changes to the guidance. This assessment will be informed by the responses to the consultation and the evidence provided.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Department welcomes the views of industry on all the measures proposed in our December 2022 consultation, including on testing capacity and transition periods for the proposed changes. In this consultation we are proposing to remove the national classification from Approved Document B and utilise the more robust and up to date internationally recognised standard. During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the use of the national classification system came under scrutiny, and flaws in its use were presented in the oral expert evidence. The BS 476 series standards have not been reviewed by the British Standards Institution in detail for some time (over 20 years on average). In addition, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower and following an investigation by the Department several issues were highlighted with the consistency of fire resistance performance of some fire doors.

Upon completion of the public consultation, and subsequent analysis of the responses, the department will publish, alongside the government response, a full regulatory impact assessment which will include a detailed assessment of the impacts of the changes to the guidance. This assessment will be informed by the responses to the consultation and the evidence provided.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Department welcomes the views of industry on all the measures proposed in our December 2022 consultation, including on testing capacity and transition periods for the proposed changes. In this consultation we are proposing to remove the national classification from Approved Document B and utilise the more robust and up to date internationally recognised standard. During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the use of the national classification system came under scrutiny, and flaws in its use were presented in the oral expert evidence. The BS 476 series standards have not been reviewed by the British Standards Institution in detail for some time (over 20 years on average). In addition, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower and following an investigation by the Department several issues were highlighted with the consistency of fire resistance performance of some fire doors.

Upon completion of the public consultation, and subsequent analysis of the responses, the department will publish, alongside the government response, a full regulatory impact assessment which will include a detailed assessment of the impacts of the changes to the guidance. This assessment will be informed by the responses to the consultation and the evidence provided.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Department welcomes the views of industry on all the measures proposed in our December 2022 consultation, including on testing capacity and transition periods for the proposed changes. In this consultation we are proposing to remove the national classification from Approved Document B and utilise the more robust and up to date internationally recognised standard. During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the use of the national classification system came under scrutiny, and flaws in its use were presented in the oral expert evidence. The BS 476 series standards have not been reviewed by the British Standards Institution in detail for some time (over 20 years on average). In addition, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower and following an investigation by the Department several issues were highlighted with the consistency of fire resistance performance of some fire doors.

Upon completion of the public consultation, and subsequent analysis of the responses, the department will publish, alongside the government response, a full regulatory impact assessment which will include a detailed assessment of the impacts of the changes to the guidance. This assessment will be informed by the responses to the consultation and the evidence provided.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Department welcomes the views of industry on all the measures proposed in our December 2022 consultation, including on testing capacity and transition periods for the proposed changes. In this consultation we are proposing to remove the national classification from Approved Document B and utilise the more robust and up to date internationally recognised standard. During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the use of the national classification system came under scrutiny, and flaws in its use were presented in the oral expert evidence. The BS 476 series standards have not been reviewed by the British Standards Institution in detail for some time (over 20 years on average). In addition, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower and following an investigation by the Department several issues were highlighted with the consistency of fire resistance performance of some fire doors.

Upon completion of the public consultation, and subsequent analysis of the responses, the department will publish, alongside the government response, a full regulatory impact assessment which will include a detailed assessment of the impacts of the changes to the guidance. This assessment will be informed by the responses to the consultation and the evidence provided.

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Government brought forward extensive protections for leaseholders through the Building Safety Act 2022, enabling those responsible for historical safety defects to be pursued and held to account. It also provides for leaseholders and other interested persons to seek to recover costs already paid in relation to the remediation of historical safety defects via a remediation contribution order. The department will continue to monitor compliance with the Act's provisions and allow the new regime to bed in before deciding whether further legislation should be brought forward.

Answering body: Home Office

The Department has engaged with many stakeholders in relation to recommendation 33.22e in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 1 report – that the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to prepare personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) for all residents whose ability to self-evacuate may be compromised (such as persons with reduced mobility or cognition).

These stakeholders include Fire & Rescue Services, Local Government, fire safety experts, leaseholders, housing associations, disability groups, residents’ groups, individual residents and members of the public.

Summaries of many these discussions are detailed in the Government’s response to the PEEPs consultation. That document and the ongoing live public consultation, sets out the Government’s position on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendation in question.

Answering body: Home Office

The Protection Uplift fund is not currently incorporated into Fire and Rescue Services’ core spending power as it is a ring-fenced grant provided to fund specific capabilities. The Home Office will continue to review how Fire and Rescue Services are best supported to increase fire protection capability and capacity.

Answering body: Home Office

The Government intends to publish the next progress report on the implementation of the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase One report in April.

Answering body: Home Office

An impact assessment for the Fire Safety Act 2021 was published alongside its introduction on 12 March 2020 and is available here Impact Assessment (parliament.uk).

The Government intends to lay fire safety regulations to implement the majority of the recommendations made by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in the Phase 1 report, which require a change in the law, as soon as possible once the Fire Safety Act 2021 is commenced in full in England. The impact assessment published alongside the Fire Safety Consultation on 9 July 2020 included an assessment of the costs for the planned fire safety regulations and is available here Fire safety - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A new impact assessment will be published alongside the regulations when they are laid.

Answering body: Home Office

The Home Office has a programme to update Fire Safety Order guidance which will reflect the latest legislative and policy positions when they are published over the next year to support the regulations to implement Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations and the fire safety changes planned through Building Safety Bill.

While existing guidance does not have information on e-scooters, as these have come into usage since they were developed, London Fire Brigade has issued some guidance through a press release on how to use and store them safety from a fire safety perspective. We will look to work this advice into updated guidance where appropriate.

The advice is available here:

London Fire Brigade backs TfL ban on dangerous private e-scooters on London’s transport network | London Fire Brigade (london-fire.gov.uk)

Answering body: Home Office

The Home Office has a programme to update Fire Safety Order guidance which will reflect the latest legislative and policy positions when they are published over the next year to support the regulations to implement Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations and the fire safety changes planned through Building Safety Bill. While existing guidance does not have information on e-scooters, as these have come into usage since they were developed, London Fire Brigade has issued some guidance through a press release on how to use and store them safety from a fire safety perspective. We will look to work this advice into updated guidance where appropriate.

The advice is available here:

London Fire Brigade backs TfL ban on dangerous private e-scooters on London’s transport network | London Fire Brigade (london-fire.gov.uk)

Answering body: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Government accepted, in principle, all of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 1 recommendations for central government. I chair the quarterly Grenfell Inquiry Recommendations Board to monitor progress against these recommendations and a tracker is published on gov.uk every 6 months.

The bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy deserve justice, not only through the Inquiry and police investigations, but also through Government creating a legacy of lasting change and reforms to building safety. Our Building Safety Bill will make that a reality.

Answering body: Home Office

The Government is clear that building safety is the responsibility of building owners. To help increase the pace of remediation, the Government has made £5 billion of taxpayer funding available for the remediation of unsafe cladding on high rise residential buildings.

Across 2020/21 and 2021/22, the Government has also allocated around £50m in additional taxpayer funding to address the fire safety issues that arose from the Grenfell Tower fire. The majority of this funding has been allocated to FRAs and the NFCC to:

strengthen protection capacity and capability;

deliver the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 operational recommendations;

deliver the Building Risk Review programme; and establish a central strategic leadership hub

Decisions on how to allocate their resources to deliver their statutory duties most effectively is a matter for individual Fire and Rescue Authorities, based on their assessment of local risk.

Overall fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.3 billion in 2021/22. Standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 2.6 per cent in cash terms in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21.

The London Fire Brigade is part of the Greater London Authority (GLA) and it is a matter for the Mayor to set the budget for the GLA’s functional bodies, including the London Fire Commissioner.

The total resource reserves held by standalone fire and rescue authorities at March 2019 was £538m.This is an increase of £4.7m or 1% compared with March 2015 and is equivalent to 39% of their core spending power.