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Industry responses back government ban on combustibles on high rises

A majority of respondents to a consultation on banning combustible materials on high-rise buildings have backed the proposals, the government has said.

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Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty
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A majority of respondents to a consultation on banning combustible materials on high rises have backed the proposals #ukhousing

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) made the revelation in its response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s report on Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations.

The ministry stated: “There were 460 responses from a range of individuals and organisations. The government is currently analysing the consultation responses. The majority of respondents agreed with the intention of the consultation and the government will publish its response in the autumn.”

Following Dame Judith’s review, which did not recommend a ban on combustibles, the committee recommended that the government ignore this and impose a ban anyway.


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On the same day the review was published, the government announced it would consult on a ban, and has now revealed the initial findings of this consultation.

A parallel consultation by the government addressed the use of desktop studies, which allow manufacturers to use untested cladding materials by extrapolating results from previous tests.

Dame Judith recommended that the government restrict the use of such studies, and the committee said MHCLG ought to publish “clear guidance outlining the specific circumstances in which desktop studies may be permitted to be used”.

According to this latest document by the government, there were 235 responses to this consultation. The majority of respondents, it said, agreed that their use should be restricted, but did not think that they should be banned.

The government’s response also said that it would consider including new guidance on the use of sprinklers as part of its review of the fire safety guidance document known as Approved Document B.

It added that it would “consider financial flexibilities for local authorities concerned with funding other essential fire safety works in buildings which they own”.

The response concluded: “We are committed to learning the lessons from the Grenfell disaster and delivering change to ensure such a devastating incident can never happen again. We thank the committee for its inquiry and all who have participated.

“The government will continue to take into account the committee’s views when producing future policy and setting out an implementation plan in the autumn.”

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