Around 110 building control inspectors and 111 new fire protection officers across England will be recruited and trained over a three-year programme to support the work of the new Building Safety Regulator and monitor high-rise buildings.
The package consists of a £16.5m grant to Local Authority Building Control (LABC) and £26m of funding to support the Fire & Rescue Services in England and the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).
The package will also provide for more than 2,000 training courses for existing building control surveyors.
Under the new regime, local authority building control inspectors and fire brigade inspectors/engineers will be the local partner regulators of the new Building Safety Regulator in the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
Minister for building safety Lee Rowley said: “The government is delivering important reforms under the Building Safety Act, including introducing the new Building Safety Regulator to oversee building safety and performance. This taxpayer funding will give additional resource to local regulators who will support the work of the regulator in making buildings safer.”
LABC chief executive Lorna Stimpson said: “Building control surveyors are a scarce commodity and so it’s important that we start to invest in this previously underfunded but vital public service role.”
NFCC chair Mark Hardingham said: “NFCC welcomes confirmation of the three-year funding for fire and rescue services to recruit additional staff to support the new Building Safety Regulator. We will be working collectively with others to ensure that the new regulator delivers on the policy intent set out by Dame Judith Hackitt, and as part of that, establishes a sustainable funding model for fire and rescue services that goes beyond the initial financial package.”
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