Unlimited fines for fire safety breaches

Aaron Morby 4 years ago
Share

Building owners could face unlimited fines following new measures being brought in to strengthen fire safety.

The Home Office announced today that limitless fines will be handed out to anyone caught breaching fire safety regulations or obstructing or impersonating a fire inspector.

These new measures, announced as part of the government’s response to the Fire Safety Consultation, will come into force as part of the legislation in the Building Safety Bill.

This Bill will also create the first national Building Safety Regulator and overhaul the way buildings in scope of the new regime are designed, built and managed when occupied.

The measures will include a requirement for fire risk assessments to be recorded for each building and improve how fire safety information is handed over throughout the lifetime of a building.

New stringent fire measures


  • improve the quality of fire risk assessments and competence of those who complete them
  • ensure vital fire safety information is preserved over the lifespan of all regulated buildings
  • improve cooperation and coordination amongst people responsible for fire safety and making it easier to identify who they are
  • strengthen enforcement action, with anyone impersonating or obstructing a fire inspector facing unlimited fines
  • strengthen guidance issued under the Fire Safety Order so that failure to follow it may be considered in court proceedings as evidence of a breach or of compliance
  • improve the engagement between Building Control Bodies and Fire Authorities in reviewing plans for building work
  • require all new flats above 11 metres tall to install premises information boxes

The Fire Safety Consultation took place last year to inform government work on improving fire safety.

The Home Office intends, subject to the Fire Safety Bill receiving Royal Assent, to lay regulations before the second anniversary of the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 1 Report which will deliver on the Inquiry’s recommendations.

 

Latest news

Legacy building defects return to haunt Barratt Redrow

House builder sets aside £248m for Redrow fire and concrete frame fixes
5 hours ago

Skanska agrees £153m price to revamp A47 Thickthorn junction

New link roads and underpasses to ease traffic near Norwich
5 hours ago

First tower plans go in for £1bn Liverpool Pier Head site

First design will "set tone" of scheme which could contain 60-storey tower
5 hours ago

Barhale creates new low-carbon chief board role

Haddon takes board seat while Solomon becomes eastern regional director
4 hours ago

Met Police preps £300m framework for estate upgrade

Early market talks start ahead of October bid contest
5 hours ago

Raft of SME firms win £94m framework places

More than 50 demolition and asbestos specialists chosen: Full list
5 hours ago

GRAHAM gets go-ahead for £110m Boddingtons Brewery revamp

Work to start this summer after Gateway 2 approval secured
1 day ago

Thames Water finance chief joins BAM UK & Ireland

Abigail Farrell-Black joins contractor as new finance head after senior roles at Thames and Southern Water
1 day ago

FM Conway profit jumps to £33m under Vinci

Turnover hits £608m and cash surges £68m just two months into new ownership
1 day ago

McAlpine breaks ground at £1.25bn Port Talbot green steel job

Port Talbot switch to scrap-powered production by 2027
1 day ago

Cappagh lands £136m Portsmouth Water deals

Utility specialist wins AMP8 contracts for infrastructure and smart meters
1 day ago

Rethink over “anti-dumping” tariffs on Chinese diggers

Fair trade body reconsiders ruling after lobbying by manufacturers
1 day ago

Sparks agree near 4% wage increase from 2026

Top hourly rate in London to rise to £26.70 under JIB deal
1 day ago

Morgan Sindall to build new Cambridgeshire school

Latest win for contractor at Alconbury Weald development
1 day ago

BSR backlog swells as new build approvals run to 36 weeks

First official Government figures expose full extent of Gateway project logjam
4 days ago

Repair slowdown drags down construction output

New work activity rises in May despite overall 0.6% output fall
4 days ago

Equans suffers £29m loss as new build exit drags on

Refocused retrofit contractor still dogged by legacy losses despite profitable core work
4 days ago

Scaffolding trade body NASC facing discrimination claim

Former training manager to take trade body to Employment Tribunal
4 days ago

ACS lands lead role on Stafford transformers lab

Contractor to start main £20m expansion in live site environment
4 days ago

GRAHAM sees profits rise despite dip in turnover

Record order book as contractor confident about future prospects
4 days ago

Nixon Hire sells 200-strong welfare van fleet to Sunbelt

Sunbelt more than doubles mobile site welfare capability
5 days ago

Henry family and directors face claims topping £31m

Administrators chasing dividend payout, unpaid loans and family benefits
5 days ago

Vistry eyes second-half affordable homes work surge

Government rent reforms and funding pledges power-up work pipeline
5 days ago

JV picked to progress Severn-Thames water transfer plan

AtkinsRéalis and Stantec to map pipeline or canal link
5 days ago

Police catch on the run construction boss

Director missing for months after failing to appear in court after site death
5 days ago

Green light for £800m Poplar estate revamp

Construction to start next year at Teviot Estate
6 days ago

Civil engineering trade body boss leaves to join Mace

CECA Chief Executive Alasdair Reisner joins consulting arm
6 days ago

House builders offer £100m to drop competition probe

CMA set to strike deal with cash going to affordable housing programmes
6 days ago

Transport Secretary axes £1.4bn road jobs in south east

Alexander pulls plug on A12 and A47 upgrades in budget crackdown
6 days ago

Fusion taps HG for first Birmingham student job

622-bed Bristol Road scheme kicks off contractor’s Midlands push
6 days ago