Require external wall information for fire services
Grenfell Tower Inquiry · Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report · Issued 30 October 2019 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, 33.10a
The owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to provide their local fire and rescue service with information about the design of its external walls together with details of the materials of which they are constructed and to inform the fire and rescue service of any material changes made to them.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report · 30 Oct 2019 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Fire Safety Act 2021 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021, amending the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to clarify that external walls of multi-occupied residential buildings fall within scope (Fire Safety Act 2021, legislation.gov.uk).
- The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023, requiring responsible persons of high-rise residential buildings to provide local fire and rescue services with information about external wall materials and design (SI 2022/547, legislation.gov.uk).
- The government's Phase 1 progress report stated this recommendation is complete (Quarterly Thematic Update, MHCLG, February 2025).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
The government accepted in principle all Phase 1 recommendations directed at central government. The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick presented the formal response to Parliament on 21 January 2020, committing to new duties on building owners and managers through the Fire Safety Bill and Building Safety Bill, including requirements for premises information boxes, floor plans, lift inspections, fire door checks, evacuation signage, and fire safety instructions to residents.
UK Government · 21 Jan 2020 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 26 Feb 2025 Completed. The Fire Safety Act 2021 commenced in full on 16 May 2022. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023 requiring responsible persons to send external wall records electronically to their local fire and rescue service. Source →
- 1 Nov 2024 · HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services LFB rated "outstanding" for responding to major and multi-agency incidents. Significant improvements since January 2022 inspection. Understanding of risk improved. View source → Good Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.