In June 2022 the Government issued updates to fire safety guidance and building regulations. The implication of these changes can be complex to digest by industry professionals. For building product manufacturers, it would be valuable to architects and specifiers if your CPD content provides an insight on how the relevant changes impact on your product category and project specification.
If the following legislative changes are applicable to your building product CPD, it would be good practice to review the content and ensure it is compliant with the current legislative requirements.
Fire Safety Guidance and Part B
On 1 June 2022, the government introduced a package of improvements to further strengthen and clarify building regulations and fire safety guidance as part of wider reforms to building safety. The updates include:
- Buildings for residential purposes now apply to hotels, hostels and boarding houses – in addition to blocks of flats, hospitals, student accommodation and dormitories in boarding schools.
The ban on combustible materials in and on the external walls extends to buildings for residential purposes over 11m. - Relevant metal composite materials as defined in Regulation 2(6)(c) are prohibited on all new buildings at any height.
- New rules for external walls and balconies for new blocks of flats between 11 and 18 metres in height were also introduced in the updated Approved Document B.
Other Approved Documents
Updates to the building regulations also include the new publication of the following Approved Documents, effective from 15 June 2022. The changes follow the Government’s response to the Future Homes Standard consultation and are part of the plan to move to net zero by 2050.
- Approved Document L Conservation of fuel and power – Volume 1: dwellings.
- Approved Document L Conservation of fuel and power – Volume 2: buildings other than dwellings.
- Approved Document F Ventilation – Volume 1: dwellings
- Approved Document F Ventilation – Volume 2: buildings other than dwellings
- Approved Document O: Overheating
- Approved Document S: Infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles.
Revised versions of the Approved Documents to give practical guidance are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/approved-documents
Our CPD team constantly monitors the latest regulations and interprets the implications for our clients. If you’d like any help on how the new legislation affects your product marketing and CPD, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. If you would like to discuss creating or updating your CPD, we’d be happy to do so.