A centrally coordinated programme is urgently needed to address barriers to remediating unsafe buildings, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has said.
Publishing a new Industry White Paper on Remediation, NFCC says that, despite progress being made, there are longstanding challenges yet to be addressed.
The paper sets out some of the barriers to meeting the Government’s targets – including significant difficulties in identifying and inspecting affected buildings and tackling workforce shortages.
Fire Chiefs are also calling on the Government to step up efforts to manage the risk for those currently living in affected buildings, by increasing the use of sprinklers in existing residential buildings over 11 metres, based on risk assessment.
Since the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, fire and rescue services have played a crucial role in identifying unsafe buildings, supporting enforcement, and ensuring the immediate safety of residents. But NFCC says that fire and rescue services are under pressure to balance this work against other key priorities – including protecting people in other high-risk buildings, such as care homes and hospitals – whilst having to manage increasing funding pressures, workforce shortages and increased costs.
The Government published its Remediation Acceleration Plan in December, committing to completing remediation of all buildings over 18m in height within government-funded initiatives by the end of 2029. For buildings over 11m with safety defects, remediation is intended to be complete or have a clear timeline for completion by the end of 2029. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) estimates that up to 12,000 buildings over 11 metres need to be remediated, with 60% of affected buildings still to be identified.
Today’s paper from NFCC warns that, with current capacity, to review or inspect all mid-rise residential buildings from 11 metres to 18 metres would take between 12.76 and 24.23 years to complete at an estimated cost of £284.24 million to £608.82.
Fire and rescue services already face multiple pressures due to their evolving role in protecting communities, including the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, alongside on-going inflationary pressures. Most will have their funding cut in cash terms under next year’s local government financial settlement.
However, NFCC says that even with more funding in place, hitting remediation targets would be hindered by significant workforce challenges in the construction and fire safety sectors. Training fire engineers takes three to five years, with many leaving the public sector for better-paid private sector roles and the limited pool of professionals causing wage inflation. Slow progress in improving competency and capacity across fire engineering and fire risk assessment is also being compounded by a decline in STEM skills and an aging construction workforce. NFCC is urging the Government to establish a cross-departmental Construction Skills Strategy to address chronic shortages in fire engineers, fire risk assessors, and other key professionals.
The paper also calls for the Government to deliver on recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report regarding occupational regulation and competency, and in relation to the building regulations guidance not facilitating compliance with the Building Regulations 2010.
National Fire Chiefs Council Chair, Mark Hardingham, said: “The Grenfell Tower fire was a national tragedy, and yet nearly eight years on, not enough progress has been made in addressing issues in the built environment. We need to put the proper processes in place now to fully identify and remove the barriers to remediation, to manage risk and ensure people are protected.
“This means a centrally coordinated programme, a serious plan to tackle workforce shortages, and joined up strategic direction to manage other crucial priorities. Unless we get these foundations right, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past and leaving thousands of people living in unsafe buildings for many years to come.”
Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council’s Protection Committee, and Chief Fire Officer for Greater Manchester, Dave Russel, said: “Whilst a Construction Skills Strategy will take time to establish, an absence of one has created a gap, leaving no agreed picture of how many skilled practitioners the UK has – or needs – in order to inform current targets or plans.”
