Building Regulations (Review) Bill [HL]

Lord Tope Excerpts

Friday 22nd October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Tope]

My Lords, I, too, give my thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, for introducing this Bill and for the full and careful way in which he did so and explaining how it differs from the Bill that he introduced before the last election. I am very grateful to the noble Lord, as I am sure we all are, for meeting those who moved amendments to the previous Bill and for meeting so many of those concerns in the Bill that he has presented. We must all be grateful for that. I am pleased, too, to hear that the Chief Fire Officers Association has formed an interest group to carry forward this research and to update the research that was carried out in 2004 by the Building Research Establishment, implemented in 2006. As both previous speakers said, that research was in part controversial and certainly needs to be looked at again, and I am very pleased that the Chief Fire Officers Association has taken the initiative in doing that. I am even more pleased that it is being done at no cost to the taxpayer, particularly in view of the announcements this week. I should be interested to know when the results of that research will be available, because I am sure that we will all look at it with very great interest.

I hope that the Minister will confirm not only that his department will take part in this research, but that it will play a positive role and, in so doing, dispel the belief that exists in some quarters—wrongly, I am sure—that CLG is somehow anti-sprinkler. It would be a reassurance to all of us to know that CLG welcomes the initiative of the Chief Fire Officers Association and will play a positive role in it—not necessarily an uncritical role, but a positively critical role.

All of us recognise the important part that sprinklers play in the control of fire. Noble Lords will know that my background is in London; I am a former Member of the London Assembly and before that was a member of the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority, so I have some limited interest and knowledge in all this, and I have consulted the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority for its view. LFEPA tells me that sprinklers control 99 per cent of fires in buildings fully protected by sprinklers, and that losses from fires in buildings protected by sprinklers are estimated to be one-10th of those in unprotected buildings. LFEPA—and I remember former Mayor Livingstone saying that it sounded more like a tapas bar than a fire authority—advocates that sprinklers should be fitted in domestic properties where the most vulnerable live, in addition to smoke alarms. The noble Lord, Lord Harrison, in introducing the Bill, made the case very well. LFEPA says that the impact of fire is grossly disproportionate, in that 30 per cent of fire victims have limited mobility, whether through age, physical disability or loss of mobility occasioned by drink or drug abuse, which may be more the case in London than in many places. In all those cases, smoke alarms alone are not likely to be sufficient. Again, as the noble Lord pointed out, the demography of our nation means that this problem is, sadly, more likely to increase than decrease.

Few of us would disagree that the greater and more effective use of sprinkler systems is desirable. The real question is how best to bring that about. I know that neither this Bill nor the Chief Fire Officers Association necessarily seeks further legislation or regulation, but perhaps better regulation. Whether that needs another expensive government review—or, indeed, whether such a review needs to be expensive—I do not know. Whether it is necessary so soon after the implementation of the 2004 review, I am less sure. Certainly, we should have the outcome of the CFOA review first.

I now digress a little, as this is a Second Reading debate. We will all agree that fire prevention is even better than fire control. I have been approached by NICEIC, which has regulated the UK electrical industry on a voluntary basis since 1956. It tells me that in 2007 there were over 43,000 fires of electrical origin in the UK, nearly 8,000 of which were due to electrical fault. NICEIC believes that it is imperative that standards of electrical installation work are not impacted on adversely by potential future changes to the building regulations. It believes that building regulations can be improved to reduce the burden on local and central government, as well as to the tradesmen belonging to a competent persons scheme. Those schemes are working well, but better regulation enforcement and promotion are needed. There is a need to ensure compliance and consistency in the building regulations so that practitioners, as well as consumers, can have confidence in the standards of the electrical work carried out. NICEIC contends that if industry were to take responsibility for the future development of the technical requirements contained in approved documents, such as approved document P, there would be greater clarity and industry support, thereby ensuring consistency and compliance. This would reduce the burden, in terms of staff time and costs, on central government.

I am sorry that I was not able to give the Minister notice of this concern and, of course, I do not expect him to respond today. However, I know that these concerns are known to his department and I should be grateful if he would arrange for me to get a response in due course.

I also know that my honourable friend Andrew Stunell in another place is undertaking a review of building regulations on behalf of the department. I happen to know, because I have known him for a long time, that it is a subject in which he has taken a personal interest for many years and on which he is very knowledgeable—something that I certainly do not claim for myself. I am sure therefore that the results of his review will lead to very much better regulation. Better regulation certainly does not mean more regulation, nor, necessarily, less regulation. It is what it says it is—better regulation. It is regulation that is clear in its objective and capable of effective enforcement, which of itself must therefore mean greater compliance.

I end as I began by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, for introducing this Bill and thus stimulating further debate on this very important subject.