UK building safety ‘detail and guidance’ anticipated in 2023

Here are some of the major developments that are set to take place in the coming months.

Proposed changes to fire safety guidance

The government has launched a consultation to support the continuous improvement of ‘Approved Document B’ (ADB), which contains fire safety guidance. The consultation covers important proposals, such as:  

• making provisions for all new care homes to include sprinklers;
• recommending the removal of the national classification system (BS 476) for reaction to fire and fire resistance of construction products, ending the dual system currently in place;  
• consulting on the appropriate height threshold for the provision of a second staircases in new residential buildings, with a proposal to set for the first time in England a threshold for single stair residential buildings at 30m; and   
• calling for evidence on the clarity of guidance, focusing on the use of materials on external walls.  

The consultation on ADB will run until 17 March 2023 and is likely to reinforce the view of many within the Health and Safety Executive and fire and rescue services that tall buildings should have a second staircase. Those involved with new developments should take account of the proposed changes with a view to future-proofing their building designs.

The proposed changes to ADB are not retrospective, meaning that existing buildings will not be required to comply with the reforms. However, developers who already have planning permission for a building may find that the issue of a second staircase is raised if the application needs to be reopened for any other reasons.

Depending on the changes required, these could be approved as non-material amendments but some of the changes may require radical re-thinks. In the meantime, fire safety concerns are already part of the planning process and planning policies on this topic will be an increasingly material consideration.

Higher-risk buildings consultation

The government has published its response to a consultation on the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations and the types of buildings which will be in scope. One of the most important elements of the response is the fact that the government has amended the proposed definition of a building to more clearly set out what is and is not considered a “building” for the purposes of the design and construction and occupation parts of the new regime.

Changes to these definitions are likely to change who is the duty holder for different parts of buildings. These changes have been made because the original regime focused on simple leasehold arrangements, rather than catering for more complex set ups like mixed use buildings and larger schemes involving multiple connected blocks.

The new regulations have been laid before parliament and come into force in early 2023, if they are approved. For those who have already considered their duty holder roles in relation to high-risk buildings, attention should be paid to the outcome of this consultation. Roles and the scope of responsibilities may change, particularly for those taking on the principal accountable person role.

Anyone that has not considered whether they are a duty holder in relation to any high-risk buildings must do so as soon as possible, as registration of high-risk buildings begins in April 2023.

‘Golden thread’ guidance

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has produced some detailed practical guidance to assist duty holders on complying with the ‘golden thread’ principles for both new and existing buildings.

In relation to existing buildings, this guidance will be helpful for those taking on the accountable person or principal accountable person roles to help them understand what information they need to pull together to inform their safety case and how this information should be stored and maintained.

In relation to new buildings, the guidance will be relevant to contractors who will need to make sure that they have systems in place to implement what is required by the golden thread principles and provide the necessary information.

New guidance on EWS1 forms

The EWS1 form was developed by lenders and RICS to assist in the valuation of apartments in buildings with external walls containing combustible materials. New guidance on EWS1s, issued by RICS, should now mean that mortgage lending is freed up on buildings where there is a plan for remediation. It is hoped that this will also free up some capacity among fire engineers to assist duty holders to prepare for the implementation of the new building safety regime.