To ask the Minister of Finance for his assessment of the sufficiency of the BS 8414 test in providing a robust mechanism to ensure the fire safety of buildings.

My Department consulted on the amendment of local Building Regulations in relation to Fire Safety and radon matters. In relation to buildings other than ‘relevant buildings’, it is proposed to include in the technical guidance to Part E ‘Fire safety’ of the Building Regulations, the alternative option to use large scale testing carried out to BS8414 and meeting BRE135 performance requirements, to demonstrate compliance with external fire spread requirements in building regulations.

This option is included in the Building Regulations technical guidance of England and Wales. Scotland recently removed reference to BS8414/BR135 as alternative guidance, as an interim measure until the outcome of deliberations by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety reports later this year. The south of Ireland does not reference the alternative approach of BS8414/BR135 as a route to compliance in its Technical Guidance Document B.

Officials have analysed the consultation responses and a summary is available on the Department’s website. In relation to the introduction of BS8414/BR135 as an alternative route to compliance in the technical guidance for non-relevant buildings, the majority of responses (78%) were in support of the proposal with only 2 respondents (5%) not in support (17% expressed ‘No view’).

The Department is currently consulting with the local Building Regulations Advisory Committee (NIBRAC) and its Technical-subcommittee for Part E ‘Fire safety’ of the Building Regulations and will bring forward final proposals, for my consideration, in the near future. My Officials are also maintaining contact with counterparts in Britain and the south of Ireland so NIBRAC can monitor and consider any potential changes in approach to large scale testing to BS8414 there, resulting from Phase 2 of the Grenfell inquiry.