The Government has published a document listing amendments to Volumes 1 and 2 of Approved Document B which will come into effect in September 2026.
These amendments principally concern:
- Threshold for the provision of a second staircase in blocks of flats with a storey 18m or more in height.
- Evacuation shafts are introduced to support the provision of evacuation lifts.
- Changes to provisions for fire doorsets.
- New terminology including definitions for evacuation shaft, evacuation lift lobby, interlocked stair and storey exit.
- Provisions for horizontal escape and vertical escape separated as per the structure of Volume 2.
The 2019 edition incorporating the 2020 and 2022 amendments will continue to apply where a building notice or an initial notice has been given to, or a building control approval application with full plans made to, the relevant authority before 30 September 2026 and either the building work to which it relates:
- has started and is sufficiently progressed before that day; or
- is started and is sufficiently progressed within the period of 18 months beginning on that day
You can view the amendments at the link below:
Fire safety: Approved Document B
FIS will publish further detailed guidance on these changes in the coming months.
See more news likes this
Fire Safety: New and Consolidated Guidance on Fire Doors, Risk Assessments, External Cladding and Smoke
Under the Government’s Building Safety Programme, MHCLG have issued a consolidating note bringing together all previously published Advice Notes No. 1 - 22 issued by The Expert Panel. This note is directed at building owners of multi-storey, multi-occupied residential...
UPDATE: Ceiling collapse at the Piccadilly Theatre
It's easy to make comparisons between a ceiling collapse in a historic building especially when they both occur in a theatre during a performance, but the collapse at the Piccadilly Theatre in November and the Apollo theatre in 2013 are markedly different. The failure...
£1.9 million support package for apprenticeships
A £1.9m support package for apprenticeships has been introduced in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. 186 small businesses have received grants of £3,000 to help create new apprenticeship opportunities via Greater Manchester’s #SeeDifferent Small-to-Medium...