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Building Regulations (Amendment) Bill [HL]

My Lords, I declare an interest as an officer of the All-Party Group on Fire Safety and Rescue. My noble friend’s Bill is, to state the obvious, not lengthy or complicated, but, from my perspective and that of many others in this House and in organisations such as the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association, the European Fire Sprinkler Network, the National Fire Sprinkler Network, key insurance companies and the general public, it is very important and, if passed, will be a significant milestone in fire safety legislation. My noble friend is to be complimented, for the second day on the trot; he has had a busy week. The Bill is very well constructed and equally well researched, and his introduction of it spoke volumes for the case to amend the Buildings Regulations 2000 to require the installation of an automatic fire suppression system in new residential premises in England and Wales. The Government are receptive to the views of the organisations that I mentioned. Indeed, as my noble friend has said, there have been some important developments in England and Wales. New residential properties that are above the height mentioned by my noble friend must have sprinklers, as must large warehouses. Further new guidance on fire safety in residential care homes, including the use of sprinklers, has also been introduced, so progress has been and continues to be made. All this points in the right direction, so my noble friend’s Bill is worthy of adoption and implementation. I have one concern. The view has been expressed to me on more than occasion that sprinklers do not save lives, they save buildings. That is refuted by experts in the field, and I am pleased that that is the case. I therefore hope that once again there will be a generally positive response from the Government to this worthwhile Bill. As the Association of British Insurers says in its recent brochure, Tackling Fire: A Call for Action, working with the Government and other stakeholders is vital to making progress, and the Bill is part of that process.