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Welsh Government to fund fire safety surveys

Fire safety surveys for buildings over 11 metres will be funded by the Welsh Building Safety Fund, it has been announced today.

The Negotiator

fire safety

From autumn 2021, the Welsh Government will be taking applications to fund fire safety surveys for all buildings over 11 metres and is calling on the UK Government to confirm when further consequential funding will come to the devolved nation.

The surveys will go beyond cladding issues, including assessing internal issues such as ineffective compartmentation and high rise buildings (18m+) will be prioritised initially.

julie jamesMinister for Climate Change, with responsibility for housing, Julie James (pictured) said: “What we do not yet know is exactly how many buildings are affected and to what extent.

“It is critically important that we are able to understand the true scale of the problem in order to properly address it.

“Every building is different and the fire safety surveys will identify what measures and actions are required to make a multi-residential building as safe as it can be and protect lives and property in the event of a fire.”

Steps have already been taken to address these complex challenges, including ensuring all identified buildings in Wales with ACM cladding have been remediated at no additional cost to leaseholders. Over £10m was made available last year to remediate affected buildings in the social sector which saw 12 buildings access this support.

The findings from the surveys will inform the creation of a ‘Fire Safety Building Passport’ which will be developed by those responsible for buildings and will set out what defects have been identified, what remedial action is required and when fire safety measures need to be implemented.

It will also outline how recommended works align with other works required for the building, including planned maintenance and potential decarbonisation measures.

Read the full statement from Julie James.

July 16, 2021

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