The ABI called for reforms to fire safety testing after carrying out its own tests, now MPs have written a letter to the Minister for Housing, Communities and Planning

Dozens of MPs have written a letter to the Minister for Housing, Communities and Planning, James Brokenshire, calling for an “urgent” reform for the regulatory regimes of fire safety testing.

Last week, the ABI published research exposing the weaknesses of fire tests since the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Now 44 MPs, led by MP for Croydon North, Steve Reed, has sent a letter to the Rt Hon MP saying that nearly a year after Grenfell, “not enough has been done to prevent another fire.”

They urged the government to:

  • Reconsider the use of combustible and limited combustibility cladding and insulation on high-rise residential blocks, schools and hospitals.
  • Ensure that dangerous cladding is removed and replaced where it already exists on hundreds of buildings, with financial help from the central Government if necessary.
  • End the use of ‘desktop studies’ that award fire safety certificates without a basis in rigorous testing.
  • Ensure sprinklers are installed in all high-rise residential social housing blocks.

The letter ends with the MPs saying the government must “accept responsibility for putting things right because no one else can”.

 

ABI calls for urgent changes after weaknesses in post-Grenfell fire tests

 

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