Social housing building fire safety remediation grant

If you are using this scheme to provide awards of subsidy, you must inform the Subsidy Control Unit – email: scu@gov.wales

Pan Wales

Social Housing Building Safety Grant

The Welsh Ministers may, by virtue of s.31 of the Local Government Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”), pay a grant to a local authority towards expenditure incurred or to be incurred by that Local Authority. Section 31(3) of the 2003 Act enables the Welsh Ministers to determine the amount of grant and s. 31(4) provides that the grant may be paid on such conditions as the Welsh Ministers determine. The Welsh Ministers have power to provide funding to RSLs under s. 18(1) of the Housing Act 1996 in connection with their housing activities. S.18(2) enables the Welsh Ministers to specify the procedure, circumstances, method and amount of grant that is paid.

Grant funding to address fire safety issues in social housing in medium and high rise residential buildings.

Welsh Government

Registered social landlords and local authorities within Wales only.

• Accommodation and food service activities
• Construction
• Human health and social work activities

10 February 2023 until 31 March 2026

£40,000,000

All subsidy awarded under the scheme will be awarded by way of grant funding.

Key eligibility criteria:

• The fund is open to registered social landlords and local authorities.
• It will support works to remediate fire and structural safety issues within existing medium and high-rise residential buildings which are that are 11 metres and over in height (more than 4 storeys).
• Fire safety issues for the areas in scope are clearly based on an assessment of risk and measures integrated within the fire safety plan.

The funding for fire safety works is provided up to a 100% grant award by Welsh Government based on an assessment of the grant funding application addressing fire safety defects in one or more of the specified criteria (below). 

The fund will support 5 areas:

1. Fire detection and alarm systems. Ensuring compliance with current standards, providing comprehensive coverage, and integration into the wider fire safety plan for the building(s).
2. Evacuation alert systems designed to support the fire safety plan, whether this means stay put, partial, or full evacuation.
3. Fire Suppression Systems - an effective and comprehensive fire suppression system is a highly effective way to reduce the risk of death and injury from fire.
4. Compartmentation – This covers both the structural integrity of the walls and floors surrounding each flat, and the capability of front doors to resist the spread of fire, smoke, and other combustion gasses. This also includes public area compartmentation measures such as fire/smoke stop doors preventing smoke and other combustion gasses from spreading beyond the fire zone, and certainly from spreading into evacuation routes, or between floors. Fire evacuation routes will also need comprehensive compartmentation measures to ensure they are usable by all occupants in the event of an evacuation.
5. Exterior Cladding Replacement. Intrusive surveying of in scope buildings to identify fire safety risks/defects with the external wall cladding and associated external wall construction. Subsequent replacement and remediation works, along with other technical mitigating measures as required to ensure fire cannot spread through the external structure of a building.

£8,000,000