High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

(asked on 20th March 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they made provision for an 18-month relaxation period in relation to non-combustible cavity barriers in external walls of buildings when making the Building etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/603) and publishing the Approved Document B 2019 edition incorporating 2020 and 2022 amendments, given that at the date of laying the regulations there were suitable non-combustible products readily available.


Answered by
Baroness Scott of Bybrook Portrait
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This question was answered on 3rd April 2023

On 1 June 2022, the Government published a response to a consultation following the review of the ban of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings. The consultation proposed a temporary 18-month relaxation of the ban as it relates to cavity trays. This followed from issues highlighted to officials on the excessive cost, supply (including of trained professional able to install these products) and installation of products on the market at the time. At the time we brought in the changes we considered it appropriate, on balance, to allow for a short-term exemption for combustible cavity trays as the risk they pose remains relatively low while providing temporary flexibility.

The consultation response is available here.

We will continue to review the impact of the ban including this short-term exemption and to work with industry to understand new products available on the market.

Reticulating Splines