Scottish Building Regulations: Fire Safety review and Compliance: Call for Evidence
Overview
This consultation seeks to obtain the views and opinions of stakeholders on a review of building standards and guidance relating to fire safety, and including work on the compliance plan approach, to help ensure the safety of people in and around Scotland's buildings.
The consultation covers three main areas, as follows:
- the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report recommendations on fire safety, including a fundamental review of Section 2 (Fire) of the Technical Handbooks
- the compliance plan manager
- the compliance plan approach
The proposed review and changes outlined in the consultation aim to:
- improve safety for the design and construction of all domestic and non-domestic buildings making them safer for those in and around buildings, particularly relating to fire safety and in the event of an outbreak of a building fire when considering the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report recommendations
Read the consultation paper. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.
Consultation questions preview
The consultation questions are included here for your reference. Please click 'Begin consultation' at the bottom of this page to proceed.
Fire Safety - A general call for evidence on any aspects of fire safety guidance that requires new guidance and / or clarification
Consultation Question 1(a)
Are there existing fire safety topics and guidance within the technical handbooks that should be reviewed?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide evidence or examples to support views, contributions or comments
Comments:
Consultation Question 1(b)
What new fire safety topics should be included in the Technical Handbooks?
Please provide evidence or examples to support views, contributions or comments
Comments:
Fire Safety - Legal status of the technical handbooks (guidance)
Consultation Question 2(a)
Are the current mandatory standards and supporting guidance robust, effective and clearly understood to deliver the intended safety outcomes?
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contributions or comments.
Comments:
Are the mandatory standards and supporting guidance consistently applied to deliver the intended safety outcomes?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contributions or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 2(c)
Where should improvements be focussed when reviewing the mandatory standards and supporting guidance?
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contributions or comments.
Comments:
Fire Safety - Compartmentation / external fire spread and the stay put strategy
Consultation Question 3(a)
Provide comments on risks with compartmentation in retrofit work (conversions) and the mitigation of these which may impact a Stay Put approach.
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 3(b)
Provide comments on risks with vertical fire spread on external walls breaching compartmentation which may impact a Stay Put approach.
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 4
Do you consider current guidance on ‘evacuation on alert’ and evacuation alert systems to be effective and up to date?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Rate of fire spread and means of escape for vulnerable and disabled people
Consultation Question 5(a)
Do you consider current guidance on escape for vulnerable and disabled people to be effective and up to date?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 5(b)
Is the current guidance easy to understand and consistently applied?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 5(c)
What improvements or changes are needed in this area?
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contributions or comments.
Comments:
Fire Safety - Fire Strategy / Fire Safety Design Summary
Is the current guidance for fire strategies and fire safety design summaries effective and up to date?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Is the current guidance easy to understand and consistently applied?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Fire Safety - Membership of the expert review group
Do the fire safety working groups have suitable representation and inclusion from across industry and the wider fire sector?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 7(b)
Do the fire safety working groups communicate their findings effectively?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 8
Do you have any views or comments on the regulating of the fire engineering profession?
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contributions or comments.
Comments:
Fire Safety - Simple omissions and issues for example outdated references that could maybe be resolved with early revisions
Consultation Question 9
Do you think there is a need for any other revisions of the technical handbooks and guidance (Section 2 Fire)?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Compliance - The role of the Compliance Plan Manager in legislation
Do you agree that the Compliance Plan Manager role requires duties and that corresponding offences should be set out in legislation?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 10(b)
Do you agree that local authority verifiers should be notified if the Relevant Person or their delegates do not act in accordance with the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 and the supporting secondary legislation?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Compliance - Procedural principles of the Compliance Plan Approach
Consultation Question 11
Do you agree that non-domestic buildings with any storey at a height of more than 11 metres above the ground should be defined as a High Risk Building Building?
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 12
Do you agree that enclosed shopping centres should be defined as a High Risk Building?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 13
Do you agree entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls and arenas should be defined as a High Risk Building?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Compliance - Compliance Plan: Pre-warrant Stage
Consultation Question 14(a)
Do you agree with the proposed minimum 12-week timescale for submission to a verifier of an Application for Compliance Plan in Principle for a High Risk Building?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Consultation Question 14(b)
Do you agree that a verifier should only register a building warrant for a High Risk Building after a Compliance Plan in Principle has been issued?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Compliance - Compliance Plan: Re-inspection of non-compliant work
Consultation Question 15
Should projects that request a site visit without first ensuring compliance through their own checks pay an extra, reasonable fee for reinspection?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comment:
Compliance - Legislation
Consultation Question 16
Do you agree that legislation is required to give full effect to the Compliance Plan Approach and role of the Compliance Plan Manager for High Risk Buildings?
Yes / No / Not sure
Please provide any evidence or examples to support views, contribution or comments.
Comments:
Useful information about responding to this consultation
As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.
Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.
On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.
After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.
All relevant submitted responses will be analysed. This may be carried out by third party organisations who Scottish Government, its executive agencies or non-ministerial offices, contract to do this work. Such data sharing will be governed by appropriate contractual arrangements to keep your data secure.
An analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the Scottish Government website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us.
You can also join our consultation mailing list where we regularly list newly published analysis reports (as well as new consultations).
Why your views matter
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report was published on 4 September 2024. The Inquiry recommendations (5 – 9) result from the lack of clarity on the effectiveness of guidance. The Scottish Government committed to undertake a fundamental review of Section 2 (Fire) of the Technical Handbooks.
An additional commitment made in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 Report was to carry out further consultation on developing the compliance plan approach to evidencing compliance with building regulations, focussing on high risk building types initially.
The Scottish Government is committed to effective fire safety to prevent fires, injuries, and fatalities, which includes learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the findings of the Inquiry to improve building and fire safety in Scotland.
The new compliance plan approach (CPA) has been developed in response to the recommendations made by the 2018 Review Panel on Building Standards Compliance and Enforcement. The Review Panel was formed by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety set up following failings in the construction of Edinburgh school buildings and the fire at Grenfell Tower, London. The Review Panel identified that the building standards system in Scotland was not broken but needed to be strengthened, including compliance with building regulations.
It is now intended to implement compliance plan guidance as a response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 recommendations, and the principles of the approach to strengthening compliance with Scotland’s building standards system.
An additional commitment made in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 Report was to carry out further consultation on the developing compliance plan approach to evidencing compliance with building regulations, focussing on high risk building types initially.
This Call for Evidence will help to shape and inform the review in considering changes to the standards and processes set within The Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (as amended) and other published guidance documents to improve provisions addressing fire safety.
We also want to hear your views on some aspects of the compliance plan approach where we think change is warranted, and to understand support or otherwise before we move to considering legislative change.
Give us your views
Interests
- Building and Planning
- Communities and Third Sector
- Housing and Regeneration
- Main hub
- Public Safety and Emergencies
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