Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will request assessments from the (a) Scottish and (b) Welsh governments on the potential effect of requiring compulsory installation of fire sprinklers in (i) new and (ii) refurbished schools in Scotland and Wales; and if he will publish an assessment of the potential benefits of such legislation in England.

Earlier this year, a Call for Evidence was held on the review of the Department’s Building Bulletin 100: ‘Design for Fire Safety in Schools’. This included questions on fire suppression systems, such as sprinklers. The responses have been analysed and follow up technical studies are being carried out by consultants. Until this work is completed, the Department’s policy on installing sprinklers in schools remains unchanged.

As part of this review, Department officials will be liaising further with their counterparts in Scotland and Wales on the impact of requiring sprinkler installation in new and refurbished school buildings.