Require evacuation alarm systems in high-rise buildings
Grenfell Tower Inquiry · Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report · Issued 30 October 2019 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, 33.22d
All high-rise residential buildings (both those already in existence and those built in the future) be equipped with facilities for use by the fire and rescue services enabling them to send an evacuation signal to the whole or a selected part of the building by means of sounders or similar devices.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report · 30 Oct 2019 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- Statutory guidance in Approved Document B has been amended and BS 8629 introduced for evacuation alert systems in new blocks of flats over 18 metres (Quarterly Thematic Update, MHCLG, February 2025).
- The government's annual report stated this recommendation remains in progress as of February 2026 (Annual Report on Progress, MHCLG, February 2026).
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
- 25 Feb 2026 Status as of Annual Report (February 2026): In Progress Source →
- 26 Feb 2025 Completed. Statutory guidance (Approved Document B) has been amended and BS 8629 introduced for evacuation alert systems in all new blocks of flats over 18 metres. The government noted that the limited evidence on the effectiveness of retrofitting is not sufficient to justify mandating it into existing high-rise buildings at this time. 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.