Fire safety warnings up by nearly half in Nottinghamshire in last five years

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) warned the UK is facing ‘a widespread building safety crisis’ and called for "strict enforcement" for companies putting lives at risk.

Fire services regularly conduct fire safety audits in public buildings and private businesses, to ensure they comply with public health regulations.

New figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) show the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service conducted 2,305 fire safety audits in the year to March.

Of these, 383 were deemed unsatisfactory, resulting in a safety warning being issued.

This was a 14 per cent increase on the 337 issued a year earlier, and an increase of 51 per cent on the 254 five years earlier.

Across England, there were 51,020 fire safety audits conducted in the year to March, with 21,323 warnings issued, a slight decrease on the 21,708 a year earlier, but a 33 per cent rise on five years ago.

When the outcome of a fire safety audit is unsatisfactory, agreed action plans known as informal or formal notifications may be issued.

Formal notifications are issued in the most serious of cases where less formal action has failed to resolve issues of non-compliance.

In Nottinghamshire, the number of formal notifications increased from 43 to 63 over the last five years, while the number of informal ones rose by 52 per cent, from 211 to 320.

Nationally, formal notices increased by 29 per cent, and informal ones by 34 per cent compared with five years ago.

Steve Wright, FBU general secretary, said: "For years, companies and building owners have been allowed to line their pockets by cutting corners and putting people’s lives at risk.

"As the Grenfell Tower fire so tragically exposed, the regulatory system has been gutted by successive governments.

"An increase in fire safety notices is a positive sign, but these amount to a mere slap on the wrist if not accompanied by strict enforcement.

"We need continued investment in fire safety inspectors, and for the Government to commit to rebuilding the regulatory system, to tackle a crisis on this scale."

Failing to comply with an alteration, enforcement or prohibition notice from a fire safety audit can lead to a prosecution.

The figures show one audit in Nottinghamshire led to a prosecution in the year to March – the most since current records began in 2016-17.

There have been three prosecutions.

Across England, there have been 35 in the year to March.

An MHCLG spokesperson said fire and rescue services are responsible for making their own enforcement decisions under fire safety legislation.

However they added the Government supports fire and rescue services through the Protection Uplift Grant, which awards additional funds on top of their existing budget.

They continued: "The protection uplift grant PUG) has contributed to increases in overall capacity of fire protection departments to undertake fire safety audits and other fire safety activity.

"In the financial year 2024-25, £10m additional funding was provided to bolster their fire protection capacity and capability to deliver local risk-based inspection programmes.

"A further £10m PUG funding is made available this year."