Ministerial Statement on Fire Safety and CE marking of construction products

The new Building Safety Minister, Rushanara Ali (pictured above), marked the return of parliament on yesterday (2 September 2024) with a written ministerial statement. As well as extending the recognition of CE marking for construction products, it made a commitment on evacuation of disabled and vulnerable people and on changes to fire testing classes and sprinklers in care homes.  

The various measures and commentary are summarised below.

Fire safety and evacuation

In the Autumn, the Home Office will bring forward proposals to improve the fire safety and evacuation of disabled, and vulnerable residents, in higher-risk buildings (HRB’s) in England.

The proposals, in response to the Grenfell Tower’s Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations for Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEP), will see residents with disabilities and impairments entitled to a person-centred risk assessment. These assessments will identify any appropriate equipment and adjustments needed to aid safe evacuation fire. A Responsible Person will also have to develop a Residential PEEP statement, which will form a record of what vulnerable residents should do in the event of a fire.

Amendments to Approved Document B (England) have also been made in response to the Grenfell Inquiry’s Phase 1 recommendations on Evacuation Alert Systems (sounders) for new Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs). The government has now committed to further consideration of the second part of the report’s recommendation, relating to existing buildings, in light of further evidence or recommendations in the Phase 2 report. 

CE marking

The Ministerial Statement recognises the pivotal part played by construction products in the housing and infrastructure supply chain noting that “ensuring continuing supply of products is critical to delivering house building targets and wider infrastructure ambitions”.

Construction products must be safe, and the statement notes that evidence at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry revealed the scale of concern about construction products and recognises that the system that oversees them remains inadequate.

The statement announces an extension of the recognition of CE marking for construction products in Great Britain and that:

• CE marking will be accepted after 30 June 2025 in Great Britain
• any subsequent changes to the recognition of CE marking would be subject to a minimum two-year transitional period
• UKCA marking will remain a valid and accepted regulatory mark
• the government has committed to system wide construction product regulatory reform
• the government will explore the long-term future of CE/UKCA marking as part of this regulatory reform; and 
• the government will engage with UK Conformity Assessment Bodies, the UK Accreditation Service, and the wider industry to strengthen the conformity assessment market.

National classes and sprinklers in care homes

The statement announces two changes to Approved Document B (England).

1. The introduction of a provision for sprinklers to be installed in new care homes.
2. The withdrawal of the National Classes contained in BS 476 for fire testing standards.

Care homeowners and developers will have a six-month transition period until the guidance comes into effect and then a further six months to enable work on current projects underway, or about to start, to continue.

Withdrawal of BS 476 will end the dual specification that has operated for two decades in favour of the more robust and internationally recognised British and European Standard BS EN 13501. 

Manufacturers who have only ever tested to BS 476 will need time to re-test their products. There will be a transition period of five years for fire resistance and six months for reaction to fire to facilitate a smooth transition to the European standard that is not disruptive to supply chains.

The statement also notes that taken with the new guidance for second staircases in tall residential buildings over 18m in height (published on 29 March 202), these measures conclude the new policy responses for sprinklers in care homes, removal of national classes, and staircases in residential buildings following the consultation which ran from 23 December 2022 to 17 March 2023.

Further information

# You can read the full Ministerial Statement on the UK Parliament’s website.

# Read the Amendments to Approved Document B (fire safety): circular and letter addressed to local authorities in England, which outlines the amendments to Approved Document B.

# The three Approved Document B amendment booklets were published on 2 September 2024.