THE PROVISION OF RESEARCH INTO FIRE SAFETY ACCESS AND FACILITIES IN BUILDINGS

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a Crown non-departmental public body with specific statutory functions in relation to health and safety. It is appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and employs around 3,500 staff including policy advisers, inspectors, technologists and scientific and medical advisers.

HSE's job is to prevent people being killed, injured or made ill by work. The Technical Policy Team is part of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) which sits within the Health and Safety Executive.

It is responsible for developing and maintaining the technical guidance that supports the Building Regulations. Their work also involves the identification of emerging risks and provision of expert advice to the Government.

The technical guidance sets the standard for new buildings and work to existing buildings, and the BSR utilises this guidance, in the form of the Approved Documents, to improve the safety, accessibility, liveability, function and sustainability of the built environment. As part of the technical review of Approved Document B (ADB) the relevant stakeholder workshops, a Call for Evidence, and advice from the Building Advisory Committee (BAC) highlighted the need for research into the area of "Access and facilities for the fire service".

The research is aimed to review whether the relevant provisions in ADB are fit for purpose and effective in meeting the minimum requirements under Schedule 1, Part B5 of the Building Regulations 2010. The main output from the research will be an objective and evidence-based presentation of the results in the form of technical reports. The work is expected to be organised into three separate objectives.