Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring builders to comply with BS 5395-1:2010 in Approved Document K.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS388) made on 16 October 2026. The BSR published its Call for Evidence on Building Regulations Part K (protection from falling, collision and impact) on Monday 19 October, which will remain open until the end of the year. It can be found here. Evidence collected will supplement the department’s commissioned research on domestic stairs which can be found here and general access and utility stairs, which can be found here, which considered aligning statutory guidance in Approved Document K with British Standard 5395-1:2010 (‘Code of practice for the design of stairs with straight flights and winders’). Evidence collected will aid the BSR to meet its duty, under the s.5 Building Safety Act 2022, to keep the safety of people in and about buildings and the standard of buildings under review. Building Regulations and guidance in Approved Documents can then be updated as needed.