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A joint taskforce of councils, fire chiefs and approved inspectors has agreed a new process to determine fire safety compliance on building works.
The joint regulators’ group, which includes Local Authority Building Control (LABC), the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and the Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors (ACAI), has agreed a three-stage process.
Where there is a disagreement on whether plans for building work meet fire safety requirements, the decision process will include a peer review of the case, a panel discussion with LABC, NFCC and ACAI representatives, and following that a formal review by six members of the consensus panel (two representatives from each organisation).
The new approach follows responses to the government’s fire safety consultation, which sought views on how to achieve consensus.
Camilla Sheldon, deputy director of the Building Safety Programme at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “We welcome this sector-led approach to achieving consensus, which appears to offer a practical solution to complement current arrangements and enables ownership to remain with building control bodies and fire risk assessments which are best placed to consider specific compliance issues.
“While the process is entered into on a voluntary basis, it provides an important function in achieving consensus among different parties and we strongly encourage all parties to take up this new approach when required.”
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