Combustible external wall cladding systems: extending the ban to hotels, boarding houses and hostels

2 Phase 1- Review of IRS and RIA for England and Wales

The review of the data from IRS over the period from 1 April 2009 to 29 February 2024, for Scotland, is reported in Section 2.1 and the review of the RIA for England and Wales, is reported in Section 2.2.

2.1 Review of Incident Recording System (IRS) for Scotland

2.1.1 Identification of categories for review

The definition of "relevant buildings" for the purpose of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (as amended) by the 2022 Regulations (Scotland) includes new dwellings, buildings used as a place of assembly, or as a place of entertainment or recreation, or a hospital, or a residential care building or sheltered housing complex or a shared multi-occupancy residential building, with a habitable storey at least 11 metres above ground. The “relevant building” excludes hostels, hotels and boarding houses. As these data, specifically for hostels, hotels and boarding houses were of interest, these were the focus of this part of the review.

The IRS^[1] was reviewed to establish the questions and building categories for which data would be requested from Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). The IRS has (under Question 3.2 – What type of Property was involved?) nine different categories (level 2) for building types, namely:

1. Dwelling

2. Other Residential (institutional)

3. Non Residential Buildings

4. Road Vehicle

5. Rail Vehicle

6. Aircraft

7. Boat

8. Outdoor

9. Outdoor Structures

The data for hostels, hotels or boarding houses all sat under the level 2 category Other Residential (institutional). There are a number of options for the associated level 3 sub-categories which are shown in the table below. Additionally, the table shows the five sub-categories that were selected for further review.

Table 1: Sub-type categories (level 3) from Level 2 category- Other Residential (institutional)

Sub-category (level 3)

Hotel/motel

Guidance (level 4)

Establishment providing short-stay accommodation for recreational purposes

Selected

Yes

Sub-category (level 3)

Boarding House/B&B for homeless/asylum seekers

Guidance (level 4)

-

Selected

Yes

Sub-category (level 3)

Boarding House/B&B other

Guidance (level 4)

Establishment providing short-stay accommodation for recreational purposes

Selected

Yes

Sub-category (level 3)

Youth hostel

Guidance (level 4)

Establishment providing short-stay accommodation for recreational purposes

Selected

Yes

Sub-category (level 3)

Towing caravan on site (not on tow) or fixed caravan on site

Guidance (level 4)

Includes holiday caravan or Campervan/Motor home, but not permanent dwelling. Includes Self-propelled caravan/motorhome, holiday caravan not on tow

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Other holiday residence (cottage, flat, chalet)

Guidance (level 4)

Establishment providing short-stay accommodation for recreational purposes

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Hostel (e.g. for homeless people)

Guidance (level 4)

Hostels run by charitable organisations or local authorities for welfare purposes, church hostels, probation/parole/bail hostel. Incl.

YMCA/YWCA

Selected

Yes

Sub-category (level 3)

Sheltered Housing – not self-contained

Guidance (level 4)

This category should be very rarely used as most properties can be categorised elsewhere.

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Residential Home - Children's

Guidance (level 4)

Children’s home, orphanages, community homes, homes for handicapped or disabled children, Local Authority Secure Unit (for children)

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Residential Home - Nursing/Care

Guidance (level 4)

-

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Residential Home – Retirement/Elderly

Guidance (level 4)

Old person’s rest home. Does not include where primary purpose is medical care.

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Student Hall of Residence

Guidance (level 4)

Regardless of ownership – i.e. University-owned or accommodation purpose built for students and managed by an external company

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Boarding School accommodation

Guidance (level 4)

-

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Nurses'/Doctors' accommodation

Guidance (level 4)

-

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Military/barracks

Guidance (level 4)

-

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Monastery/convent

Guidance (level 4)

-

Selected

No

Sub-category (level 3)

Other Residential Home

Guidance (level 4)

-

Selected

No

Along with categories detailed above, responses for the following questions were requested from SFRS over the period from 1 April 2009 to 29 February 2024:

• Question 1.1 – FRS Incident Number
• Question 2.1 – What was the time and date of call?
• Question 2.5 – Time/Date of Stop Message
• Question 3.2 – What type of Property was involved?
• Question 8.22 – What was the extent of flame and/or heat damage (at stop)?
• Question 9.6 – Extent of harm as a result of the Incident
• Question 9.24 – What is your understanding of the severity of the injury?

2.1.2 Review of IRS data for fire fatalities and injuries

There were 2,395 fire incidents for the nearly 15-year period from 1 April 2009 to 29 February 2024 meeting the selected sub-categories shown in Table 1.

Of this number 92.4% were recorded as “NULL” (meaning no injury) and the remaining 181 incidents are shown below in Figure 1.

As can be seen there were six fatalities. The majority, 61 people, received first aid at the scene. A total of 55 were sent to hospital with the majority of these having slight injuries and only six having serious injuries. The remaining incidents were less serious.

2.1.3 Selected incidents for further review

There are six fatalities that took place over three separate incidents that are required to be investigated further by acquiring the associated Fire Investigation (FI) reports. Basic details of the fatalities, to identify the relevant FI reports, are detailed below:

Q2.1 Date of Call Q1.1	IRS Incident Number
01/03/2016	9513161
18/12/2017	69147171
18/12/2017	69147171
02/01/2023	035963-02012023
02/01/2023	035963-02012023
02/01/2023	035963-02012023

Further investigation of these three incidents was undertaken as part of this Phase 2 study. Additionally, any data available from SFRS providing further details of the six serious injuries and 49 slight injuries would be reviewed.

2.2 Review of RIA for England and Wales

2.2.1 Background

Government departments are required to produce Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) to support proposed changes to regulations. Their purpose is to set out the costs and benefits associated with the proposed changes compared to a ‘do nothing’ benchmark, i.e. a ‘business as usual’ counterfactual. The RIA can consider a range of regulatory options and, potentially, a non-regulatory one.

There is government guidance on preparing RIAs as well as templates and a calculator to help ensure they are presented in a consistent manner particularly with presenting costs and benefits in respect of discount rate, costing period, valuation of benefits etc.:

• impact assessments guide for government officials
• impact assessment template for government policies
• impact assessment calculator 3

As discussed in Section 1, The Building etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 (the "2022 Regulations") came into force in England on 1 December 2022. These amend the definition of "relevant building" to bring hotels, hostels and boarding houses within the scope of the Combustible Materials Ban from which they were initially excluded. This change was supported by an associated RIA Review of the ban of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings which also considered other related proposals. The RIA was signed off in May 2022.

On the same issue, the government in Wales held a consultation from October 2023 to January 2024 on proposed amendments to the building regulations for Approved Document Part B (Fire Safety) . The consultation considered a range of proposals including an amendment on the ban on the use of combustible materials in and on external walls of buildings. To support the proposed amendments a RIA was prepared which included a cost benefit analysis (CBA)^[2]. The responses to the consultation were being reviewed during Phase 1 of this study, but the Welsh Government published a summary of responses and set out next steps in January 2025 ^[3]. Question 30 of the consultation concerned the Impact Assessment. Of those respondents that provided a yes/no response, the vast majority agreed with the proposed cost estimates and the Impact Assessment overall. It concluded by saying that if any of the proposals are to be extended this would be included in a final Impact Assessment.

2.2.2 Approach

The aim of this part of the report is to review the RIAs for the amendment in England (Section 2.2.3) and the proposed amendment in Wales (Section 2.2.4) related to the ban on the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings to inform the evidence base for an equivalent mandate in Scotland. Specifically, this section of the report considers the assumptions made, the data required and the modelling undertaken in the two RIAs in order to produce a CBA for Scotland, the principles of which could be adopted to produce an RIA.

2.2.3 Review- RIA for extending the ban to hostels, hotels and boarding houses, in England

2.2.3.1 Overview

The RIA was prepared using the standard template and considered the following main options:

a) Change the building type included within the ban – Include hotels, hostels and boarding houses within the scope of the ban;

b) Issue an amendment to Approved Document B - Retain the regulatory ban at 18m and introduce new guidance for external walls and balconies for blocks of flats between 11m and 18m in height. An alternative option where the height threshold of the ban was decreased from 18m to 11m for all buildings was considered but it was felt to be disproportionate with potentially a negative impact on timber-frame buildings;

c) Metal composite materials - Introduce a complete ban on the use of the type of metal composite material that was used on Grenfell Tower (metal composite material with an unmodified polyethylene core) in the external walls of all new buildings and buildings undergoing building works, regardless of height or use;

d) Attachments – Include curtains and slats of solar shading devices within scope of the ban, with a limited exemption for ground floor awnings;

e) Exemptions – Amend the list of materials exempted from the combustible materials ban to include fibre optic cables, water proofing materials and insulation used below and up to 300mm from ground level;

f) An 18 month “type relaxation” on cavity trays; and;

g) Performance requirements – Update the classification that materials must meet to comply with the combustible materials ban to the current version and allow the top layer of a balcony floor to meet the required standard using the horizontal-testing equivalent of the existing standard.

Within each of these main options a ‘do nothing’ option was considered as the counterfactual.

The preferred options chosen for implementation were (a), (b) and (f) all of which included hotels, hostels and boarding houses in both the public and private sectors. The overall equivalent annual net cost (EANC) for these three options (over a 10-year period) was calculated to be £35.3m (central estimate) with a £1.4m cost to industry to familiarise itself with the new requirements.

Of relevance to this project, the EANC of option (a) was calculated to be £3.0 to £5.6m with a central estimate of £4.3m. Table 2 provides a detailed breakdown:

Table 2: Impact of including hotels, hostels and boarding houses in England in the scope of the ban

-	Minimum	Central	Maximum
No. hotels, hostels and boarding houses (new build and refurbished) affected each year	25	29	32
New build cost increase per building (£m)	£0.2	£0.2	£0.3
Total new build EANC increase (£m)	£1.4	£2.0	£2.7
Total façade refurbishment EANC increase (£m)	£1.2	£1.8	£2.3
Industry familiarisation cost for 18m+ buildings (£m)	£0.4	£0.6	£0.7

2.2.3.2 Cost assumptions

The modelling exercise drew on industry quotes and consultants’ experience. Whilst the RIA does not give detailed figures, it does list the key areas considered which, for the option of including hotels, hostels and boarding houses in the scope of the ban, are:

• Forecast stock and the rate of erection of new buildings (i.e. flats, student accommodation, registered care premises, hospitals, hotels, hostels and dormitories in boarding schools over 18m) for a 10-year period
• Forecast rate of existing buildings undergoing refurbishment in the next 10 years
• The proportion of buildings and flats with combustible materials in the absence of the intervention – the RIA assumed 50% of these would have rainscreen façades that do not meet the requirements of the ban
• Number and type of external cladding/insulation projects that are installed each year. It was assumed that the cost of specific materials per unit is the same across the country for each building. Specifically, the RIA used a cost premium of £69 per m2 for rainscreen façades that include materials that meet the requirement of the ban compared to those that do not
• The cost to replace components in new build or refurbished hotels, hostels and boarding houses over 18m with alternatives that meet the requirements of the ban:
  • Concrete structural frames
  • Mineral fibre board waterproofing,
  • Steel frame and aluminium decking balconies,
  • Aluminium solar shading, and,
  • PPC steel glass balustrades.
• Familiarisation cost based on 20,000 people in the industry needing to become aware and understand the new requirements. It was assumed training would not be required.

2.2.3.3 Benefits

The RIA does not monetise the benefits that should accrue from the amendments. By widening the scope of the ban to include hotels, hostels and dormitories in boarding schools with a storey more than 18m in height (as well as some of the other options) it states that this will make compliance easier to identify for designers, installers and building control bodies. However, whilst the RIA notes that fire safety risks will be better identified and managed by developers which will reduce the level of risks in buildings and make buildings safer, it does not quantify these risk reductions.

The RIA goes onto state that there are further benefits from the increase in residents’ perception of safety. But it acknowledges this is difficult to monetise as there is insufficient evidence to value the impacts of feeling safe on mental health.

2.2.3.4 Wider impacts

Those considered in the RIA are:

• Equalities - An initial equalities screening was conducted and showed the amendments are unlikely to disproportionality affect any groups sharing a protected characteristic.
• Social – The amendments would not affect family relations or the use and privacy of data.
• Competition - The ban mandates which materials can be used where on the external wall systems of buildings in scope. As such it does not make any long-term significant impact on competitiveness of English companies within the UK or elsewhere in Europe.
• Small Firms – Amendments would not disproportionately impact on small businesses.
• Environment – Energy demands associated with design, production and installation may change with the switch to different materials, but the RIA deemed it disproportionate to assess any changes that may result from the ban. The amendments may reduce the occurrence of fire spreading which could lead to a marginal improvement in air quality and a reduction in water pollution incidents.

2.2.4 Review- RIA for Wales

2.2.4.1 Overview

The document supporting the consultation in Wales was prepared by consultants and does not use the RIA template, although it shares many of the same principles.

As with the RIA for England it proposes a range of options:

a) Ban on combustible cladding:

• Change the building types covered by the ban - include hotels, hostels and boarding houses within the scope of the ban
• Ban on the use of metal composite materials with a polyethylene core - extend the ban to all buildings, regardless of height, purpose or use, only in relation to the use of metal composite materials with a polyethylene core in and on external walls and in specified attachments
• Include solar shading products within the ban - extend the ban to include solar shading products, including but not limited to blinds and shutters
• Change the list of exemptions - change the list of exemptions in Regulation 7(3) including to enable fibre optic cables, extend the use of insulation/waterproofing materials.

b) Requirements for buildings between 11-18m – introduce new statutory guidance to set clearer, stronger standards which will set limits on the combustibility of materials used in the external walls of buildings above 11m while still allowing flexibility in design

c) Evacuation alert systems – provision for Evacuation Alert System (EAS) to be provided in accordance with BS 8629 in new blocks of flats (purpose group 1(a)) with a top storey over 18m above ground level.

d) Secure information boxes - introduce secure information boxes in all new blocks of flats over 11m.

e) Wayfinding signage - introduce floor identification and flat indication signage within new blocks of flats with storeys over 11m.

Again a ‘do nothing’ option was used as a counterfactual in each case.

The total cost for option (b) for 11-18m new build and refurbished apartments, care homes, hospitals, hotels, hostels and boarding houses was calculated to be £27.3m (10-year Present Value, PV). Whilst considered separately, the costs to implement options (c) to (e) were grouped in the report and together were calculated to be £8.49m (10-year PV) with a range £6.59 to £10.47m. Table 3 shows a detailed breakdown for option (a):

Table 3: Total cost (10-year PV) of combustible cladding ban on hotels, hostels and boarding houses over 18m in Wales

Type	New build	Refurbishment	Total
Hotels (£m)	£0.67	£0.53	£1.20
Hostels and boarding houses (£m)	£0.33	£0.29	£0.62
Total (£m)	£1.00	£0.82	£1.82

As might be expected, the total costs in Wales are lower than in England, presumably because it has a smaller building stock.

Unlike the RIA for England, the report does not explicitly state the number of buildings in Wales affected each year, but it does contain building stock data (for further detail see the section below) which indicates that there are 41 hotels and hostels over 18m in height in Wales. Based on typical new build and refurbishment activity, the number of affected hotels and hostels could be 1 or 2 per year.

The report does consider familiarisation costs but only for options (c) to (e). The wider impacts of the proposed amendments are not considered.

2.2.4.2 Cost assumptions

The report contains more detail of the approach adopted and the data underpinning the headline figures compared to the RIA for England. A series of reference buildings was assumed to define the amount of material used for each option and so determine the extra building cost compared to the counterfactual. Further, it contains various data tables addressing the key areas identified in the English RIA. Of relevance to the proposal to include hotels, hostels and boarding houses in the scope of the ban the report it provides:

• Current stock of buildings (apartments and student accommodation, care homes, hospitals, hotels and hostels) broken down by three height categories (0-11m, 11-18m and 18m+) – data taken from Welsh government and Valuation Office with consultants estimating break down by building height category based on English stock data.
• New build and refurbishment rates (expressed as a % of the building stock) for each building category and height – data source not specified.
• Outline of external wall materials used in the reference buildings for each height category defined in terms of façade area together with:
  • area of ground-level water-proofing and insulation materials, solar shading and glass balustrades,
  • length of cavity trays, and,
  • number of structural timber frame storeys, balconies and awnings.
• The proportion (%) of these materials used in 18m+ hotels and hostels that is combustible in both new build and refurbishment projects.
• The proportion (%) of these materials that are replaced in refurbishment projects for each height category.
• Detailed specification of materials used in the counterfactual case and the proposed amendment together with a cost per unit or unit area provided by a cost consultant.

2.2.4.3 Benefits

As in the RIA for England the benefits stemming from the proposed amendments are not monetised. The report notes the fire safety risks will be better identified and managed and buildings will be made safer, but these risk reductions are not quantified.

2.3 Implications for Phase 2

The RIA for England and the document supporting the consultation in Wales are similar in scope and adopt the same approach to assess the impact of the amendment to extend the scope of the ban to include hotels, hostels and boarding houses 18m+ in height.

The analysis above is predicated in the RIA for England when related to buildings with a storey at least 18 metres. The implications of this for Scotland, which has as its trigger an 11 metre threshold formed part of the basis of the Phase 2 programme of work.

A key point is that neither document quantifies the fire safety risks associated with combustible cladding in this group as well as the magnitude of the risk reduction if the scope of the ban is extended. Therefore, benefits have not been monetised. The documents do not provide detail on the reasons for the lack of risk analysis which, presumably, is a consequence of the paucity of relevant fire data and the challenge of linking deaths or injuries to the use of combustible materials in or on external walls.

Where fire risk data is available the approach used in RIAs is to apply it to the stock of new and refurbished buildings subject to a fire safety amendment to calculate the number of lives saved and injuries prevented over the period of appraisal, usually ten years. The reduction in fatalities and injuries can be valued using standard valuation methods used for government policy appraisal to determine an overall benefit.

In the case of Scotland, three incidents (with six fatalities in total) over the period were identified as being of interest requiring further investigation, as part of the Phase 2 programme, to identify the circumstances surrounding them.

Stock data held by Scottish government and the Valuation Office together with estimates of new-build and refurbishment rates can be used to determine the number of affected buildings each year. Alternatively, planning data could be used, for example information held by Barbour ABI

As noted, the Welsh report contains a lot of detailed information on built form, materials, costs etc. The reference building models used could be adopted for Scotland, but the assumptions made can be tailored to the Scottish construction industry. Officials in Wales government could be approached for additional detail as required.

Familiarisation costs can be estimated in the same manner as in England.

The costs and risk reductions can be determined using the base data described above with the key results taken into the RIA calculation template in order to undertake the CBA.