Key Facts

• Minister James Brokenshire is called to speak for no more than 20 minutes.
• The Fire Safety Bill will amend the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
• £1 billion is provided for the removal and replacement of unsafe non-ACM cladding systems.
• A fire protection board, chaired by the National Fire Chiefs Council, oversees inspections of high-rise residential buildings until the end of 2021.
• The shadow Home Secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, is called to speak for no more than 15 minutes.
• 72 people lost their lives and more than 70 were injured in the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
• The inquiry report states that combustible materials, including ACM cladding and insulation, contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
• Clause 2 of the Bill provides powers for further changes through secondary legislation.
• The Government promised to implement the inquiry's recommendations but have not given a specific timetable.
• There are only 1,100 fire-safety inspectors left after significant cuts in funding and personnel since 2010.
• Over 60,000 residents live in buildings with Grenfell-style cladding that needs to be replaced.
• Mike Penning used to be a firefighter.
• He shares concerns about the shortage of engineers conducting building safety checks.
• The fire service is currently unable to charge local authorities for inspections due to profit regulations.
• Grenfell Tower is in Felicity Buchan's constituency.
• The Bill aims to improve fire safety in multiple-occupancy residential dwellings.
• £1 billion has been allocated for remediation of non-ACM cladding on top of the existing £600 million fund for ACM cladding.
• Over 300 high-rise residential buildings still have combustible cladding, nearly three years after Grenfell.
• The MP represents hundreds of people affected by cladding-related issues in Islington Gates (144 units) and Brindley House (182 units).
• A £1 billion remediation fund has been announced but was delayed due to campaigning efforts.
• Insurance costs for buildings like Islington Gates have increased fivefold from £36,000 to £190,000.
• For Brindley House, insurance costs have soared 1,000% to £530,000.
• The Bill addresses safety issues in multi-occupancy residential buildings.
• The speaker is chair of the all-party parliamentary fire safety and rescue group.
• The Bill closes a legal loophole regarding fire safety legislation for external walls, balconies, windows, and entrance doors to individual flats.
• Over 1,000 people had their homes affected by defects in the TNQ development in Barry Gardiner's constituency.
• The building was completed in 2015 and has fire stopping and other defects that make it unsafe.
• National House Building Council conducted over 1,000 spot inspections before issuing insurance cover in 2015.
• Head Projects (approved inspectors) provided a guarantee of compliance with the building regulation but refused to provide further information after the company went into liquidation.
• The Fire Safety Bill amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
• It clarifies responsibilities for multi-occupied residential buildings regarding structure, external walls, cladding, balconies, windows, and entrance doors.
• The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service welcomes the empowerment of authorities to take enforcement action.
• Electrical Safety First advocates for mandatory electrical safety checks in tower blocks.
• An average householder in Chorley pays £67 per year for their fire service.
• Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has experienced £22.4 million of central Government funding cuts over the past decade.
• The built environment in Greater Manchester is becoming more complex, with office-to-residential conversions and rapid development.
• Central Government funding per head reduced from £28.30 in 2010 to £18.82 in 2020.
• The Bill extends the reach of the fire safety order to include exterior walls, windows, balconies, and front doors.
• A developer's 20-storey block of flats in the MP's constituency has a single staircase raising concerns about evacuation procedures.
• The Building Safety Fund criteria will be published next month.
• The Fire Safety Bill was a Conservative manifesto commitment last year.
• The Bill amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
• It aims to hold building owners accountable for compliance with fire safety responsibilities.
• The Bill aims to ensure safety in homes, particularly high-rise blocks and multi-occupancy dwellings.
• There is a proliferation of private rented accommodation and student housing in Hartlepool.
• Cleveland Fire Brigade's chief officer Ian Hayton has called for additional inspection powers since 2017.
• The Chancellor announced an additional £1 billion in March Budget for cladding replacement.
• Leaseholders may face charges of about £20,000 per flat for remedial work.
• There is a severe shortage of professionals insured to sign off on EWS1 certificates leading to 12 to 18-month delays.
• Residents in Northpoint tower in Bromley face ACM and other flammable cladding issues.
• Constituents have already paid around £400,000 for a waking watch service.
• The financial assistance scheme is slow and bureaucratic to access.
• Insurance premiums for contractors have increased by about 140%.
• 72 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14, 2017.
• The Grenfell Action Group had previously warned about fire risks at the block.
• Martin Moore-Bick's inquiry report was delayed by 18 months.
• Benita Mehra resigned from the inquiry panel due to a conflict of interest.
• In Liverpool, 10% of buildings have Grenfell-type cladding and 5% have fire retardant cladding.
• The Fire Brigades Union estimates that hundreds of thousands of premises will require additional inspections.
• Between 2010 and 2017, the number of fire safety inspectors fell by 28%.
• Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service has lost a third of its firefighters due to funding cuts since 2010.
• There are 11,500 fewer firefighters than in 2010, equating to a 21% cut.
• The Government allocated an additional £20 million for fire and rescue services in the March Budget.
• The tragedy at Grenfell Tower occurred in June 2017, claiming 72 lives.
• In Delyn constituency, three tower blocks have undergone regular fire assessments and were refurbished in 2015 with protective fire doors and sprinkler systems.
• The Fire Safety Bill aims to provide a regulatory framework for improved fire safety standards nationwide.
• It clarifies legal responsibilities for building owners regarding general fire precautions and the safety of premises.
• The bill increases enforcement powers for fire and rescue authorities to hold those who fail to comply with safety regulations accountable.
• Residential blocks with Grenfell-style ACM cladding remain unremediated almost three years after the Grenfell catastrophe.
• Leaseholders face anxiety, stress, problems selling or remortgaging homes, and extortionate fees for interim safety measures.
• The Fire Safety Bill is seen as a modest improvement but does not solve existing issues.
• Government funding and assistance are uncertain and insufficient to address remediation delays.
• The Fire Safety Bill closes legal loopholes related to multi-occupancy buildings.
• Building owners will be responsible for checking façades, flat entrance doors, and communal fire doors as part of periodic fire risk assessments.
• There is a concern about the potential unintended inclusion of semi-detached and terraced houses in the scope due to undefined terms like 'building'.
• The Fire Industry Association advises its members not to provide fire risk assessments without requisite expertise.
• The Fire Safety Bill aims to address the issues exposed by the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
• High-pressure laminate cladding has similar fire performance risks as ACM (aluminium composite material).
• A £1.6 billion package was established for remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding.
• Homeowners are struggling to afford safety upgrades, costing up to £40,000 per flat.
• Only 54% of social housing blocks had completed remediation works by March 2020.
• Nearly 90% of private residential blocks still required work as of March 2020.
• The Chancellor allocated £1 billion for remedial work but this amount is insufficient given the scale of the issue.
• The Fire Safety Bill is described as a first step towards making tower blocks safe.
• Up to 60,000 residents are living in buildings with Grenfell-style cladding.
• Only one in ten private sector buildings have had the dangerous cladding removed or replaced since the deadline set by the former Housing Secretary.
• Nine out of ten local authority-owned tower blocks taller than 30 metres do not have sprinkler systems installed.
• The Grenfell fire occurred nearly three years ago, claiming 72 lives.
• Only two private residential blocks have accepted the £200 million grant offered by the Government for over a year.
• Nine out of ten private sector buildings affected have not yet had dangerous cladding removed or replaced.
• The Grenfell fire occurred three years ago.
• £141.5 million worth of cuts have been made to the fire budget since 2013.
• The Cube, a student accommodation building in Bolton South East, caught fire leaving 200 students homeless but no one injured.
• High buildings are defined as those above 18 metres; The Cube was just short of this threshold.
• The Fire Safety Bill aims to address fire safety in residential buildings.
• Funding for remediation is currently only available for buildings over 80 metres high.
• Over half of owner-occupiers reported increased service charge costs due to remediation work.
• One resident faced a monthly increase from £90 to £1,000 due to the cost of remediation.
• The Greater Manchester High Rise Task Force has called for expanded government funding.
• A 36% cut in central Government funding over ten years affects the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
• The speaker's constituency has both large and small buildings with dangerous cladding.
• Royal Berks Fire and Rescue Service found four or five large blocks not up to required standards.
• The local fire service estimates that 30 additional officers are needed to inspect Berkshire, which has a population of about 800,000.
• Training for fire safety officers can take up to two years.
• The Fire Safety Bill is long overdue legislation addressing fire safety laws in England and Wales.
• It received support across the House but was described as modest by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
• The FBU calls for fire and rescue services to quantify inspector requirements and receive government funding accordingly.
• Over 30 months have passed since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, with only one piece of primary legislation on fire safety-related powers introduced.
• Tens of thousands of residents still live in tower blocks with dangerous and flammable cladding.
• The National Fire Chiefs Council welcomes but urges further action on the Bill.
• The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee focused on the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
• Southwark Council spent £60 million on fire safety works after the Lakanal House fire.
• Fire safety inspector numbers are 28% lower than in 2010.
• Local authorities have seen over 60% funding cuts from central government over the past decade.
• There are half a million fire risk assessments in social housing.
• The Bill is seen as a missed opportunity to address leaseholder issues.
• Leaseholders in Swish building (66 flats) and Riverside Quarter (200 flats) face re-cladding costs of £50,000 to £80,000 per flat.
• Mortgage lenders will not issue mortgages for homes without a fire safety certificate.
• Only two buildings have made claims from the existing £200 million private property fund.
• The Fire Safety Bill is three clauses long.
• It fails to implement any of the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower inquiry phase 1.
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 was passed 15 years ago without a proper system for accrediting fire risk assessors.
• Residents in buildings with flammable cladding are facing ruinous costs for waking watch, building insurance, and other interim safety measures due to income losses from covid-19.
• £1 billion provided to remove unsafe cladding on blocks of flats over 18 metres.
• £600 million allocated for the replacement of unsafe aluminium composite material cladding on high-rise social and private buildings over 18 metres.
• Ban implemented on combustible materials in cladding systems on high-rise blocks, hospitals, care premises, and student accommodation.