Building safety regime and remediation progress

The Fire Committee is examining the implementation of the new building safety regime on fire safety in London and the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

In this one-off meeting, the Committee will examine the implementation of the new building safety regime on fire safety in London and the London Fire Brigade (LFB). It will also review progress with remediation of multi-storey residential buildings in London and proposals for accelerating this.

• The Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017 resulted in the death of 72 people and injured more than 70 people. It drew attention to the regimes governing the fire safety of high-rise residential buildings in the UK.
• Following the fire, and in line with recommendations made by a review of building regulations and fire safety (the ‘Hackitt review’) and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Government made changes to fire safety legislation by enacting the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022.
• The Building Safety Act 2022 established the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) as the new regulator to oversee all aspects of building safety in England. It also introduced a new regime for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) – all buildings of 18 metres in height or above or seven or more storeys are designated as a HRB.
• In October 2024, the deputy director of building safety at the Health and Safety Executive told a conference that assumptions and modelling related to the building safety regime have “not survived first contact with reality.”
• Seven years on from the Grenfell fire, thousands of buildings are still in need of cladding remediation. In November 2024, the National Audit Office (NAO) highlighted that 60 per cent of the buildings affected had not yet been identified. The NAO found that while there has been progress, “there also remains considerable uncertainty about the number of buildings needing remediation, the cost of remediating them, and how long it will take to fix them and to recoup spending in the long run.”
• The Government’s Building Safety Remediation report stated that London has 60 percent of the buildings being reported on. The Deputy Prime Minister wrote to the Mayor in September 2024 to task him with developing a remediation acceleration plan for London’s multi-storey buildings that need flammable cladding removed.
• On 2 December 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister announced an accelerated remediation action plan in England with three key objectives: (1) fix buildings faster; (2) identify all buildings with unsafe cladding; (3) support residents.
• In September 2024, the Government has committed to introducing personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) for vulnerable residents of HRBs with this information to be made available to FRSs.

• What issues or concerns have arisen since the building safety regime came into full effect in April 2024 that are impacting London Fire Brigade and its resources?
• How does the building safety regime interact with LFB’s need to comply with requirements in the London Plan and guidance issued by the National Fire Chiefs Council?
• Does the new regime ensure that the fire safety issues identified in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry reports cannot be repeated in London’s high risk buildings?
• Is enough being done to accelerate cladding remediation in London?
• What are the next steps for personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPS) for vulnerable residents of high-rise buildings and what measures can LFB take to mitigate risks for vulnerable residents?