LEASEHOLDERS IN blocks of flats with cladding should be supported to buy, sell or re-mortgage their homes after the Government agreed with major lenders to pave the way towards ending the need for EWS-1 Forms. The announcement was made in Parliament by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

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RESPONDING TO the second reading of the Building Safety Bill in Parliament on Wednesday 21 July, Mark Hardingham (chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council) said: “This legislation is an important milestone that will contribute to essential developments in building safety.”

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THE MINISTRY of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has just issued the Waking Watch Relief Fund data as it stood at Wednesday 30 June. The figures outlined suggest that, to date, somewhat slow progress has been made when it comes to allocating the funding available.

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THE NEXT instalment in Fire Safety Matters’ ever-popular webinar series takes place at 10.30 am on Wednesday 25 August and sees the magazine partnering with fire detection products specialist EMS to examine the hugely topical issue of fire safety in tall buildings and, in particular, the vital role that can be played by wireless technology.

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EURALARM’S SERVICES Section reports an important step forward for service providers and the end users of remote services with a “very positive vote” on EN 50710: Requirements for the Provision of Secure Remote Services for Fire Safety Systems and Security Systems.

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ACCORDING TO the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the Government has failed to provide details of the number of cases of COVID exposure, infection and deaths reported by employers in the Fire and Rescue Service after being asked to do so in a Parliamentary Question and through a Freedom of Information request submitted to the Health and Safety Executive.

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WESTERN BUSINESS Media has announced the launch of the Protection and Asset Management Series of live one-day digital conferences which includes an entire day of presentations specifically dedicated to the readers of Fire Safety Matters and their specialist sphere of interest and influence.

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THE ROYAL Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a new tool for its members to record and share fire safety information. The RIBA Fire Safety Compliance Tracker records how a project has been designed and developed in accordance with Part B (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations.

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THE FIRE Industry Association has scripted an Information Note for member companies (and the sector at large) about the recently announced Building Safety Bill, focusing in particular on key areas such as the Building Safety Regulator, the ‘Appointed Person’ and the three ‘Gateways’.

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THE ROYAL Berkshire Fire Authority has brought a successful prosecution against the owner of a restaurant in Maidenhead which resulted in an £85,000 fine. The prosecution follows on from a number of serious fire safety breaches under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

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UK FINANCE has announced that seven mortgage lenders will cover the cost of making existing EWS-1 Forms publicly available through the Fire Industry Association’s (FIA) Building Safety Information Portal.

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WIRELESS FIRE safety systems developer Hyfire is in the process of “revolutionising” the fire industry thanks to the introduction of Taurus, a range of high-performance wireless detection, control and alarm devices based on a new protocol that offers “unprecedented” capabilities, quality and reliability.

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RISKING THE lives of occupants at a Southampton residential block has seen company director Charles Morgan fined and on the receiving end of a suspended prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to providing a fire risk assessment that was neither suitable nor sufficient.

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RAVI KATHURIA, aged 42, and his 45-year-old brother Sanjay, the directors of Talash Ltd and Talash Hotels Ltd, have been fined circa £350,000 plus costs for fire safety breaches at The Falstaff Hotel in the Warwickshire town of Leamington Spa. The news comes in the wake of a prosecution case at Warwick Crown Court initiated by the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service.

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A DIRECTOR and an employee of a Newmarket business have been ordered to pay a total of £1,536 in fines and costs after preventing a Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service inspector from carrying out fire safety duties.

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A “FLAGRANT breach” of a Prohibition Notice has cost the owner of Star’s Pizza on Old Brumby Street in Scunthorpe a £3,000 fine and around £12,500 in costs. The Humberside Fire and Rescue Service brought the prosecution after Mustafa Gunes knowingly put the safety of his employees and those using the living space above the shop in jeopardy. The breaches also put the lives of customers at risk.

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HAVING NOW introduced the Building Safety Bill as part of its overarching programme of work to improve the Building Regulations and fire safety systems in both the existing and future building stock, the Government has also outlined the details of a clause that will amend the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in order to support greater compliance with – and effective enforcement of – the Order in all non-domestic premises and, indeed, the common parts of multi-occupied residential buildings.

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ALONGSIDE THE introduction of the Building Safety Bill, observes the Construction Leadership Council. some draft statutory instruments on scope, duty holders and competence, as well as transitional provisions, have been published.

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IN THE coming weeks, further restrictions regarding COVID safety may be reduced or completely removed following assessments by Government across the nation. This has important implications for fire safety service providers/contractors, including the need to review their own COVID safety policies in the interests of employee and client safety.

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WITH THE pandemic continuing to cause disruption for children, families and educational establishments, a major fire at an unsprinklered Lancashire primary school has led to its closure and further disruption to students’ education in the run-up to the summer holidays.

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