The long-term funding builds on the Waking Watch Replacement Fund, which closed on 31 March this year, and is a response to plans announced in the Remediation Acceleration Plan update last July.

The funding will support residents in eligible buildings to remain safe in their homes and, potentially, save leaseholders hundreds of pounds each month, protecting them from ongoing interim measure costs while they wait for remediation work to be completed.

The new scheme replaces the Waking Watch Replacement Fund, ensuring ongoing support to building leaseholders and residents throughout the remaining operation of the Government’s remediation schemes up to 2035, subject to eligibility and assessment.

Since first launching in 2021, the Waking Watch Replacement Fund has approved circa £71.7 million in grant funding to install alarms in 801 buildings across the country, helping to keep residents safe in their homes while their buildings await remediation and protecting leaseholders from the ongoing costs of Waking Watch patrols. It’s estimated that the Waking Watch Replacement Fund has saved those leaseholders who’ve benefitted approximately £273 per month.

Accelerating remediation

Following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Panel’s final report, the Prime Minister committed the Government to producing a plan for accelerating remediation. The Remediation Acceleration Plan was published in December 2024, setting out the Government’s plan for overcoming the most significant barriers that have been identified by stakeholders, delivery partners, residents’ groups and policy teams as delaying the pace of remediation.

The Remediation Acceleration Plan has three core objectives: to fix buildings faster, identify all 11 metre-plus buildings with unsafe cladding and support residents.

One of the key measures announced in the December 2024 Remediation Acceleration Plan as published was an extension of the current iteration of the Waking Watch Replacement Fund to 31 March 2026, alongside a commitment to confirm long-term plans for the Fund. Within the July 2025 Remediation Acceleration Plan 2 update, the Government announced plans to launch a new, long-term fund to run continuously for the remaining operation of the Government’s remediation schemes.

Homes England will deliver the new long-term fund via the Cladding Safety Scheme platform.

The CIC has been “made aware” of a document issued by the Department for Education which appears to be a specification for all new schools being built under the 2025 DfE contract and promotes a reversal of the school sprinkler policy.

Sections 9.1 and 9.2 of this document deal specifically with fire safety and, in the third paragraph of the first column on page nine, it states: “The use of BB100 (2007 version) is no longer required.”

Building Bulletin 100 (2007) has required new schools to be designed and built to include sprinklers unless it could be evidenced that the risk was low and that sprinklers would not be proportionate.

The CIC is “deeply worried” about the profound negative impact of this policy upon people and their local communities in cases where educational buildings are damaged by fire. The loss of those buildings can have a significant impact on individual welfare and the wider well-being of local communities as the unavailability of a given school building is likely to curtail a range of social and educational activities.

Significant challenges

In the event of a building being damaged by fire, the local authority and community is likely to face significant challenges and costs until the building can be repaired, rebuilt and returned to active use.

With the current review of Approved Document B of the Building Regulations taking place, the CIC feels that “the time is right” for Government to consider the wider impact of fire issues on people’s mental health and well-being “as a matter of urgency”.

The letter also requested the Equality Impact Assessment the Department for Education is required to undertake under its S149 Equality Act Public Sector Equality Duty in order to assess the impact of this policy change on SEND pupils (and, indeed, any staff of protected characteristics), as well as the potential impact on any other members of a given school and user community who have protected characteristics.

*Further information is available online at www.cic.org.uk

Over 99.5% of all relevant reported buildings have had a fire risk assessment carried out. 1,468 relevant buildings (ie 76.3%) are expected to be remediated within the next five years.

Of the 2,723 buildings identified as having life-critical fire safety defects since June 2017, 970 (35.6%) have been remediated (or are completed and awaiting a new building works assessment).

The Regulator of Social Housing will continue to monitor the performance of social landlords in remediating 11 metre-plus buildings and the progress they are making against their plans.

Will Perry, director of strategy at the Regulator of Social Housing, said: “Landlords must act swiftly to address fire safety defects so that tenants are safe – and feel safe – in their homes. We will continue to closely monitor progress, engage through our regulatory work and follow up with any landlord whose plans or pace of remediation raise concerns.”

Relevant buildings

The data referred to in this latest publication were reported in the Q3 2025-2026 survey, which ran from 12 December 2025 to 22 January this year, with data being reported as at 31 December 2025.

Most relevant buildings reported (88.24%) have been assessed to have no outstanding or historic external wall system-related life-critical fire safety defects in any building works assessment since 14 June 2017.

For clarity, life-critical fire safety defects are defined as defects, shrinkages, faults or other failings in a building that give rise to fire safety risks identified by a fire risk appraisal of external wall construction or a fire risk assessment (or equivalent) undertaken to industry standards.

For its part, the Regulator of Social Housing advises caution in interpreting changes in data over time as they may be influenced by a change in the number of reported buildings and their assessment status at each quarter end.

In this latest quarter, one local authority landlord (ie the London Borough of Brent) wasn’t able to provide full information as a review of its data was being undertaken. As a result, only the Borough’s total number of relevant buildings, confirmed as being accurate as at 31 December 2025, was included.

As previously reported by Fire Safety Matters, the Government’s consultation focuses on three key areas:

*the future development of the fire risk assessor profession

*the powers required to regulate the profession

*implementation approaches for competency requirements

These proposals could significantly shape how fire risk assessment is defined, governed and delivered across the UK in times hence. The full consultation can be viewed online at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fire-risk-assessors-profession

FIA response and member engagement

The purpose of this FIA’s Special Interest Group is to gather detailed feedback from FIA members, identify key concerns, opportunities and practical implications and, further, develop an informed and evidence-based response to the Government’s proposals.

As such, the Trade Association strongly encourages members involved in fire risk assessment – whether as assessors, duty holders or those working alongside the profession – to take part and share their views.

Details on how to join the Special Interest Group and contribute towards the FIA’s response can be obtained by sending an e-mail to [email protected]

Review the consultation

In the meantime, members are encouraged to review the consultation and begin considering the potential impact on their organisations and the wider sector.

The FIA notes: “This is an important opportunity to help shape the future of the fire risk assessor profession. It’s vital that the industry speaks with a clear and informed voice.”

*Further information is available online at www.fia.uk.com

Multiple fire safety breaches were discovered at the Central Grill, and the first floor accommodation at the premises, during a fire safety audit conducted by inspectors from the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service.

At the time of the audit, the first floor was being used as sleeping accommodation. Zurel, aged 26, had committed multiple breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, placing residents living on the first floor at significant risk of death or serious injury.

At Truro Crown Court, Zurel pleaded guilty on five counts:

*failing to make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment on or before February 2024

*failing to ensure the premises were adequately equipped with appropriate firefighting equipment, fire detectors and fire alarms

*two counts of failing to maintain the integrity of emergency escape routes

*ailing to comply with the terms of an Enforcement Notice issued by the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service

On 18 March, Zurel received a 16-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years. This was reduced from 20 months in recognition of early guilty pleas.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours’ worth of unpaid work, pay £4,800 in costs at a rate of £200 per month and also pay a £154 victim surcharge.

Unacceptable risk

The appointed spokesperson for the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said: “Fire safety laws exist to protect lives. The failings identified at Central Grill created a wholly unacceptable risk of death or serious injury for those residing above the premises. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service will always take enforcement action where serious breaches are identified.”

The spokesperson continued: “We welcome the sentence. This prosecution demonstrates that, while we strive to work collaboratively with business owners to uphold fire safety standards, our overriding priority is the safety of our communities. Prosecution remains a last resort, but when serious risks to public safety are discovered, we will not hesitate to act.”

In the aftermath of this case, the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service is now urging all business owners and ‘Responsible Persons’ to regularly review their fire safety arrangements and ensure that fire risk assessments are undertaken, kept up-to-date and always remain suitable and sufficient.

Highlights to 29 March 2026

Across all categories, 284 Gateway 2 decisions were made by the Building Safety Regulator in the 12 weeks to 29 March, with a 67% approval rate.

New applications representing 12,975 residential units were received and applications representing 16,721 units have been determined, of which 10,165 (ie 61%) were approvals.

61% of decisions (19 out of 31) made by the Innovation Unit in the last 12 weeks were approvals. This means the 12-week rolling approval rate (less invalidations and withdrawals) is significantly up from last month, with a median approval time of 22 weeks.

62% of all decisions across all Gateway 2 categories related to London cases. 372 applications have been closed in the capital over the past 12 weeks.

In the last 12 weeks, 92 remediation decisions were made (49 of them in London) with an overall approval rate of 61%. This compares to only 228 decisions made throughout 2025.

Legacy cases have reduced to two, with 13 long-term cases with significant technical challenges now transferred to a complex case category.

Significant processing improvements

Initial data shows that processing times under the batching model are significantly quicker than the previous MDT model. The process scales capacity by bundling applications to specialised external suppliers for accelerated assessment, with the Building Safety Regulator maintaining full regulatory oversight.

Across all three major categories – new build, remediation and refurbishment – the median time from a case being issued to a supplier to them returning a full assessment is just four weeks.

242 new-build cases have been issued through batching, with 39 decisions (of 83 returned to date) reached at a median time of nine weeks from issue to the supplier to a decision, which includes the time for the Building Safety Regulator to consider the supplier’s assessment and make a decision.

372 remediation cases with 30 decisions (of 139 returned) have been reached at a median time of ten weeks, which again includes the time for the Building Safety Regulator to consider the supplier’s assessment and make a decision.

In terms of refurbishment, 681 cases have been issued to the batching process so far. 49 decisions (of 317 returned) have also been reached at a median time of ten weeks.

Focus on existing high-rise buildings

97 new cases were received, with 299 live cases now being processed and representing 25,921 units.

To put a clearer focus on the existing high-rise buildings, the Remediation Improvement Plan sets out how the Building Safety Regulator intends to increase resources, improve processes and continue to work with applicants to improve application quality.

As part of the Remediation Improvement Plan, initial guidance will be published in early April alongside improved feedback and support provided to applicants.

London applications

London cases continue to be a key area of focus, with London decisions being the majority of all closed cases. Over the past 12 weeks, and as stated, 62% of all decisions across all Gateway 2 categories were for projects located in the capital.

During this period, 372 applications were closed in the capital, with 470 new applications received. The total number of live London applications across all categories is now 845.

This regional concentration is particularly evident in the work of the Innovation Unit. Currently, 65% of all live Innovation Unit applications are based in London, representing more than half (54%) of the overall residential units the unit is handling.

Open remediation cases in London have seen a slight decrease over the 12-week period, dropping from 172 down to 164.

The update comes after the recent Government and Mayor of London announcement referencing emergency measures designed to unblock dozens of stalled sites and build thousands more affordable homes for Londoners currently priced out of the housing market.

Under new leadership, the Building Safety Regulator is driving stronger operational performance, with clearance of almost all legacy Gateway 2 cases and 3,800 new homes approved across the capital.

The backlog of legacy new-build cases has almost been cleared. The number of active legacy cases is now down to two regular cases.

There’s a small cohort of 13 technically complex applications. These are now being dealt with via the aforementioned complex case process.

Increasing availability

Charlie Pugsley, acting CEO of the Building Safety Regulator, said: “We continue to see improvements to the numbers of approvals for new-build and remediation cases and the time taken to reach a decision. The data we’ve published reinforces the significant improvements we’ve seen when you look at where we were in July 2025, with median decision times of 51.5 weeks.”

Pugsley continued: “A big part of our work to drive improvements is now focused on improving technical consistency in the sector and ensuring that learning from challenging designs or applications is shared. We have less complex cases to work through, which then further reducing decision times. This is directly increasing the availability of thousands of safe new and existing homes across England.”

Further, Pugsley noted: “To manage applications – particularly so the intense demand we are seeing in London, which accounts for six in every ten of our Gateway 2 decisions – our batching pilot is proving highly effective. By collaborating with specialised external engineering suppliers, we’re significantly accelerating processing times, while maintaining our rigorous regulatory oversight.”

In conclusion, Pugsley said: “We recognise the need to push further on existing buildings. That’s why our Remediation Improvement Plan provides targeted measures to bolster our resources and support industry in submitting higher-quality applications. Speed can never come at the cost of safety. Our goal continues to be to ensure that industry can construct safe buildings and that residents see the essential safety improvements they deserve.”

The Building Safety Act 2022 – and the subsequent introduction of Part 2A into the Building Regulations 2010 – established clear expectations of clients as duty holders, recognising their important role in shaping safe buildings.

The client principles are designed to: 

*provide a clear and high-level framework to support client decision-making 

*encourage proportionate oversight based on risk, complexity and building lifecycle responsibilities 

*support stronger governance, accountability and culture 

*help clients contribute towards safer outcomes through the way in which they commission, procure and oversee building work

Consultation process

On behalf of the Building Safety Regulator, the ICC is now seeking views from all types of clients and other industry stakeholders on whether the principles outlined are clear, useful and workable in practice.

The consultation will assist with an understanding of: 

*whether the intent of the principles is communicated effectively 

*how different client groups might apply them in real-world settings 

*what barriers or challenges clients may face 

*what further guidance, tools or Case Studies would help in making the principles easier to apply

Respondents are strongly encouraged to read the full set of principles before answering the questions that follow.

Submitting responses

The consultation period began on 24 March and runs until 5 May. Responses must be received by 23.59 pm on 5 May.

Responses can be realised in three ways:

*Complete the online survey

**Download the Word document version of the consultation from the HSE’s website and e-mail the completed form to [email protected]

***Download the Word document version of this consultation and send it to Consultation on ICC’s Principles for Informed Clients, Health and Safety Executive, Building 2.1 Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle, Merseyside L20 7HS

The open consultation process is live now, running for 12 weeks and closing for responses at 11.59 pm on 17 June.

Proposals to amend Approved Document B include the following: 

*implement important clarifications and technical changes to the guidance

*consolidate guidance for designing building work on existing buildings

*introduce a threshold on the use of combustible elements of structure, over which Approved Document B guidance should not be applied

*revise and update guidance on external wall systems and balconies and review the scope of the ban on combustible materials in – and on – external walls and specified attachments

*recommend providing evacuation lifts in residential buildings that rise above 18 metres in height and clarify the guidance for non-residential buildings

*update terminology on ‘sheltered housing’, introducing the new term ‘specialised housing’ in its place and including provisions for extended alarm coverage in these premises

*introduce updated guidance on roofs, including new provisions for incorporating solar photovoltaic panels

*increase the structural fire resistance rating of open-sided car parks

Share your views

*Interested parties wishing to offer their views should access the dedicated consultation page located on the Health and Safety Executive’s website

**For any enquiries concerning the consultation send an e-mail to [email protected]

Over my career, logistics buildings have been growing in footprint and in height. The days of the 10,000 m² warehouse with a height approaching 12 metres are a distant memory. There’s now a fleet of tall and slender automated warehouses exceeding 20 metres in height. As the scale of warehouses has grown, though, the understanding of fire protection challenges and the relevant regulatory guidance has often lagged behind.

Take regulatory guidance in England as an example. Recently, I heard a discussion about new projects where the steel portal frames had a ‘haunch’ height of 18 metres. The haunch typically signals the usable free height of the building, so what surprised me was how many people were unaware the regulatory guidance sets an 18-metre ceiling height for a storage building without sprinklers.

The buildings that were discussed would all exceed that limit. So, if used as a warehouse, the guidance would trigger a sprinkler requirement, with significant consequences for structural loadings and fit-out. Given the limited demand for factory buildings at this height, it’s clear the main market for these buildings is warehouse use.

I’ll concede that Table 8.1 in Volume 2 of Approved Document B takes a bit of studying, but it has been in place for nearly 20 years. The table is confusing as it uses two different height-based metrics, each defined differently, in the same table. Read carefully, however, and the limits are clear. My prior assumption was that many buildings stayed below the 15-metre haunch height to ensure they didn’t breach the 18 metres ceiling limit and trigger the sprinkler requirement.

It’s important to note the trigger is not related to a volume or compartment size. Compartmentation doesn’t deal with the height issue and it’s also technically demanding to deliver in steel portal frame structures.

Limits to fire protection

In the same conversation, I found myself explaining that current standards for active fire protection don’t incorporate ‘ceiling-only’ solutions for warehouses at 15 metres, let alone such a higher building height. To be clear: those operating storage buildings would prefer ceiling-only sprinklers as a solution as it affords them more freedom in terms of how they configure their storage.

Traditionally, protecting open-rack storage structures has required a combination of ceiling sprinklers and in-rack sprinklers (quite literally, sprinklers running within the racking). Obviously, this can limit the flexibility of storage arrangements.

From a fire behaviour perspective, a modern storage array is an ideal configuration for rapid fire growth. Fires in such storage arrays quickly become impossible to fight with manual means alone and, often, the fire will be too large before Fire and Rescue Service personnel can intervene.

If the outcome is to protect the array then active fire protection is needed. Designing such a scheme involves a careful consideration of what commodities are stored, how they’re stored and any obstructions within the racking systems (or, indeed, near to the sprinkler heads themselves). To appreciate the challenge, all of that then has to be coupled to a hydraulic design capable of delivering the right quantity of water quickly enough to suppress or control the fire.

Large-scale fire testing and research shows that it can be achieved using larger orifice sprinklers delivering substantial amounts of water. However, the research into ceiling-only sprinkler system designs mean that there are height limits. For certain types of storage, there are no designs at a ceiling height above 15 metres and, for others, the limit is closer to 12.5 metres. These heights are well below the ceiling heights proposed for a number of speculative builds.

Equally challenging

Similarly, low levels of storage in a tall building are equally challenging to active fire protection. It takes time for the fire to cause the sprinklers to operate and, when they do, more are needed. The options to deal with this include significantly restricting the levels of storage and spreading them out. If the stated aim of the project is a warehouse then it’s a bit of a challenge.

The consequences of higher buildings is that they will require specific automatic sprinkler designs to protect them. Occupiers will be faced with decisions over layouts and, perhaps, compromises over their storage arrangements. If the structural design loads for the fire protection are not considered there may well be a clash with the ability to place active fire protection in the building in the first place.

The industry may well feel that ‘the sky’s the limit’, but our regulatory guidance and fire protection capability needs to be considered in these buildings. We cannot afford to allow ignorance to define a fleet of buildings that cannot be properly protected, in turn leaving them as stranded assets or, even worse, compromising the safety of both occupants and firefighters.

Tom Roche is Secretary of the Business Sprinkler Alliance (www.business-sprinkler-alliance.org)

In essence, the move allows the Building Safety Regulator to provide a direct and focused line of communication to everyone interested in building safety. The new social channels complement the recently launched GOV.UK page and the well-established campaign site.

Following the Building Safety Regulator’s digital channels affords access to: 

*essential information and advice for those living in high-rise residential buildings across England 

*live updates on building safety reforms and legislation 

*direct links to new transparency data and official guidance 

*campaign highlights and technical insights for the construction sector 

*free training, toolkits and webinars 

*more detail about the Building Safety Regulator’s wide-ranging work and the teams behind it 

*information on Building Safety Regulator-focused research projects

The Building Safety Regulator also produces three regular e-bulletins for industry, ‘Responsible Persons’ and high-rise residents. These communications contains a recap of recent activities and developments, outline guidance and realise opportunities to offer views or take part in research.

Building Safety Regulator digital channels directory

Social media

*LinkedIn 

*YouTube 

*Facebook 

*X (formerly Twitter)

The Building Safety Regulator is always looking to expand its reach and find new and innovative ways in which to engage with residents, ‘Principal Accountable Persons’ and industry. The website will be updated with new links as and when the Building Safety Regulator joins or launches more digital platforms.

Web pages 

*News, guidance and transparency data (GOV.UK) 

*Making Buildings Safer campaign and resources website 

*Your Home, Your Safety campaign for residents

Free regular e-bulletins

*Monthly e-bulletin for industry and stakeholders 

*Quarterly bulletin for Principal Accountable Persons (PAPs) 

*Quarterly Your Home, Your Safety bulletin for high-rise building residents