Require monthly firefighter lift inspections
Grenfell Tower Inquiry · Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report · Issued 30 October 2019 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, 33.13a
The owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to carry out regular inspections of any lifts that are designed to be used by firefighters in an emergency and to report the results of such inspections to their local fire and rescue service at monthly intervals.
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 (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023, requiring responsible persons to undertake monthly checks of lifts for use by firefighters and report results to the local fire and rescue service (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 via the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (in force 23 January 2023). Responsible persons must undertake monthly checks of lifts for use by firefighters and report faults electronically to their local fire and rescue service. Source →
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.