---

Building Regulations (Review) Bill [HL]

That this Bill be read a second time. My Lords, earlier this year I introduced a Bill on building regulations and said: "The Bill's ambition is to save the lives of those who otherwise, for the want of parliamentary action, needlessly die or are maimed or injured in fires, principally through burns or smoke inhalation. This simple Bill will save lives, as well as property, save millions of pounds of public money and significantly improve our environment. By this sensible Bill, we have a chance today to make a real difference to people's lives".-[Official Report, 15/1/10; col. 703.] I then described the nature of the Bill, which was to ensure that sprinkler systems and fire suppression systems were fitted to new buildings under 30 metres in height just as currently the building regulations oblige that to happen for new residential buildings over 30 meters in height, and that the new sprinkler fire suppression systems should be approved to document B standard. I introduced the Bill because 347 people had died in fires in 2008. Apart from the human tragedy-we can imagine learning of a loved one who has died in such a fire-there are economic consequences. The then ODPM estimated an astonishing £1.4 million cost to the economy of each fatality from such fires. In 2004, the cost to the state was £7 billion, of which £2.5 billion was in property damage. I suggest to the Minister that might represent 18 new secondary schools or funding for 5,000 hospital beds. The consequence of my Bill in January, and this one today would also help the environment, which will be an important issue for all of us in the coming years. It would reduce the 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide that are spilled into the atmosphere in dousing unbidden fires that might otherwise have been suppressed by sprinkler systems, and save 5.6 billion litres of water-an important commodity-being used to extinguish fires. The pre-emptive action of sprinklers would save on rebuilding and repair involving wasted energy. Who are the most vulnerable to fires in residential buildings? They are students and that group of 16 to 24 year-olds. I ask noble Lords to think of fires that they have been involved in or know about. I remember some 25 years ago a young man died two houses along from a terraced house in which we were living in Chester. He was in the front room. Clearly he had returned from the pub and probably the smoke overwhelmed him. He died when he was only a few feet away from freedom. Sprinklers in that situation would have enabled him to escape. So, students and young people aged from 16 to 24 are vulnerable, as are disabled people who are sometimes unable to flee the situation. Included in that group are single female parents. We can imagine the dilemma of a woman who wants to run back to save her child caught in such a fire. The middle aged and perhaps the middle classes may be vulnerable. We smoke less but perhaps we drink more and drink can be a contingent factor in being caught in a fire. But principally, it is the elderly, not just those over 65 but very much more so those who are 80 plus who are vulnerable. We have an ageing population that must be borne in mind when we consider this proposal. We should respond to the demographic change. Fire safety has improved enormously but in the protection of residential buildings we have been marking time. In 2008, deaths from fire rose at a time when the number of fires was falling. That figure should not have risen but should have declined in the way that it has in non-residential buildings. Why is that not the case? My Bill in January was passed but it did not go down to the Commons. We had an excellent debate in this House. Amendments were moved and speeches were made by the noble Earl, Lord Cathcart, the noble Lords, Lord Best and Lord Hoyle, who I am pleased to see in their seats, the noble Lord, Lord Brookman, and the then Minister the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie of Luton, who is due to speak today. We had useful discussions and amendments were moved on impact assessments by the noble Earl, Lord Cathcart, and the noble Lords, Lord Best and Lord Bates. The noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, convened a meeting in his role as Minister and we found a way forward. That way forward now represents itself in this Bill in the sense that I have tried to incorporate the ideas that flowed from our debates on Second Reading and in Committee. I take the opportunity to welcome my noble friend Lady Smith of Basildon with her vast experience in these matters who will reply from the Front Bench. We cannot allow the status quo to be maintained. Time moves on. The demography that I described of an ageing population challenges us. At a time of financial retrenchment, we must take every opportunity to save money and use it more wisely. Social policy changes and we must provide for the most vulnerable in society whose numbers may increase if more people are marginalised by the financial retrenchment that I mentioned. My worry is that the advice that the Minister is receiving ignores some of the important elements that I want to highlight, including the international experience. For example, Vancouver introduced in the 1970s mandatory installation of sprinkler systems at a time when there was some 7 per cent of deaths per 100,000. By the 1990s the figure had fallen to 0.6 per cent-a huge difference. This Bill is not to introduce further regulations but to strengthen current legislation with updated research. I think that the BRE has overlooked evidence of fire suppression systems already installed in the United Kingdom and abroad, as in Vancouver, the impact of fire suppression systems regulation on current housing building practices and that vexed question of the aging population. The evidence from Scottsdale in Arizona as well as that from Vancouver was misunderstood in the original BRE report. It drew the conclusion that residential sprinkler systems were effective in preventing only 70 per cent of deaths, 30 per cent of injuries and 50 per cent of property damage. We have now learnt from the international experience that we can prevent almost 100 per cent of deaths, 85 per cent of injuries and 90 per cent of property damage. The Government may be anxious about the cost of the research that I am suggesting should be broader and more widespread and should inform any future thoughts we have on taking action. I can assure the Minister that the cost of the research will largely be borne by the Chief Fire Officers Association. It is already taking a lead in planning and financing the research, using the same research procedures and cost-benefit analyses, but with the new evidence and the new data. I am pleased to say that on 22 September there was a meeting of interested parties to begin the process of enabling us to come to a better informed position about what we plan to do here. There are concerns. Some people have made objections about the sprinklers sprinkling the water at the wrong time, but the technology has improved enormously, so much so that in the parallel legislation that is moving through the Welsh Assembly under my colleague Ann Jones AM, Dwr Cymru, the Welsh water authority, has demonstrated its approval of the fitting of sprinkler fire suppression systems. It is happy and content about that. There has been concern that we should put more effort into not new build but old buildings in which there are increased numbers of fire. However, new buildings of today are the older buildings of the future. We should attend to that now by installing these systems. Similarly, 25 per cent of current new build is timber-framed, which is a potential fire hazard. However, it is what people desire and what is happening. In addition, as a result of demographic changes, we are getting more social housing with older and perhaps more vulnerable people involved. I want to make a point about the origin of fire in rooms. A change is coming about with more older people living by themselves. They are often caught in a single room because they are not able to escape or flee. Why sprinklers represent such a good investment is that we know that on average it takes the fire and rescue services 10 minutes to arrive at the scene of a fire, but people are overwhelmed within the first five minutes, often by smoke inhalation. However, sprinklers are activated within three minutes and by five minutes they are able to put fires out, so very vulnerable people who are caught in the room where the fire originates can be saved. The other beneficial effect of sprinkler systems is that the water cleans the particles and reduces the smoke density and toxicity, and it is so often the smoke that is so dangerous. Where sprinklers have been fitted, there have been no recorded cases of multiple deaths. No lives have been lost in the United Kingdom in buildings fitted with domestic sprinklers systems. Where sprinkler systems are fitted, fire deaths have almost been eliminated, injuries are down 85 per cent, firefighters' safety has been improved and property damage is down by 90 per cent. I pay enormous tribute to our firefighters who go into burning buildings to rescue people. We have an obligation to them as well. If we can improve the preventive systems available to us, we can reduce the number of fatalities and injuries that happen to the brave men and women who fight our fires. We have many supporters for the proposals I am putting forward today. Your Lordships' House expressed approval in the Bill that I introduced in January, which ran out of time because of the general election. We have the support of the Chief Fire Officers Association. Many local authorities have written to me encouraging me in these efforts. I point to the parallel legislation in Wales which is narrowly succeeding. Do we still need to act? I think we do. In August 2010, the latest national statistics on fires, casualties, false alarms and non-fire incidents call-outs of the fire and rescue services demonstrated that there has been a fall in the number of fires, but that the number of deaths associated with them has gone up slightly. However, if you look at the percentages of deaths against the number of call-outs to fire, they are worrying. It may be that they are attributable to the longer-term trend that I described about the way that people are living longer in the United Kingdom. What we are attempting to do today is to provide better protection from fire for the elderly, the less mobile and the firefighters, and to reduce the economic and social cost of fires as well as the incidental damage to the environment. We can do something today and through the progress of the Bill we can build up the evidence of what we are saying. There is lots of good will for us to take this forward. I believe we should act now. We need to stop fiddling while our homes burn. I beg to move.