§ Lord Howie of Troonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Building Regulations for England and Wales offer adequate protection from the structural collapse of buildings caused by uncontrolled fires. [HL1559]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThe Building Regulations require that a building shall be designed and constructed so that in the event of fire its stability will be maintained for a reasonable period.
§ Lord Howie of Troonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Building Regulations for England and Wales fully comply with all parts of Essential Requirement 2 (Safety in Case of Fire) contained in Annex 1 to the Construction Products Directive (Council Directive 89/106/EEC). [HL1560]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThe Building Regulations take into account all aspects of Essential Requirement 2, except that they do not address the issue of smoke generation from products used within buildings. This is because fire safety is achieved through other means such as the installation of fire resisting construction to protect escape routes from smoke and fire. The Construction Products Directive does not require individual member states to regulate for all of the aspects contained within the essential requirements.
66WA
§ Lord Howie of Troonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to assess the results of the concrete frame fire test conducted by the Building Research Establishment on 26 September at Cardington; and whether they will ensure that these results are made public. [HL1561]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThis particular fire test was privately funded and was not commissioned by the Government. Although my department has been interested to see the results of the test and will consider the implications, as it was not involved in the project we cannot insist on involvement with the assessment of results or that the results be made public.