BUILDING SAFETY, competence and resilience are at the heart of the Fire Protection Association’s (FPA) newly launched 2026-2027 Policy Manifesto, which was unveiled at the FIRE Conference 2026 on 5 November. [Read More]

IN ITS 41-page report Fire Safety in Prisons, published on 5 November, the Justice and Home Affairs Committee warns of the high risk of fire currently associated with prisons. The House of Lords Committee has called for greater transparency and action by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), stronger oversight of HMPPS by inspectorate bodies and also a review of the Crown Immunity of prisons. [Read More]

RAMSGATE-BASED business C Watkins Plumbing Limited has been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £8,270 in costs in the wake of four workers having to escape from a fire that engulfed the roof of a 14-storey apartment building under construction in Surrey. [Read More]

THE FIRE Industry Association (FIA) has issued its Annual Report for 2026, duly detailing a 12-month period in which the Trade Association proceeded to strengthen and advance the fire safety industry. [Read More]

THE BUILDING Safety Regulator’s latest data for the 12-week rolling period to 1 November 2026 shows overall Gateway 2 application approvals rising to 92%, with 19,409 residential units clearing the Gateway. New higher-risk buildings and conversion approvals stood at 95% nationally and 97% in London, with existing building remediation approvals climbing to 93% nationally and 98% in the capital. [Read More]

THE FREE Continuing Professional Development (CPD) event organised by C-TEC proved to be a huge success with delegates from schools, colleges, councils and specialist fire businesses gathering at the company’s manufacturing facility in Wigan on 4 November. [Read More]

BAFE, THE Fire Industry Association (FIA) and the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) have joined forces in calling on the Government to make independent third party certification mandatory for verifying the competence of fire safety providers alongside establishing a single authoritative register of appropriately certificated organisations. [Read More]

FIRE AND Rescue Services – among them the London Fire Brigade and the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service – are working in collaboration with Ofqual-regulated qualifications specialist SFJ Awards and the Fire Service College in order to improve skills development, training and standards when it comes to fire-focused investigations. [Read More]