P1-8 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Require monthly firefighter lift inspections

Recommendation

The owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to carry out regular inspections of any lifts that are designed to be used by firefighters in an emergency and to report the results of such inspections to their local fire and rescue service at monthly intervals.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which came into force on 23 January 2023, there is a legal requirement for responsible persons of high-rise residential buildings to undertake monthly checks of lifts designed for use by firefighters and to report any faults electronically to their local fire and rescue service. This action followed the government's acceptance of the recommendation in principle in January 2020 and its commitment to new duties through the Fire Safety Bill and Building Safety Bill.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
33.13a
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
21 Jan 2020

The government accepted in principle all Phase 1 recommendations directed at central government. The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick presented the formal response to Parliament on 21 January 2020, committing to new duties on building owners and managers through the Fire Safety Bill and Building Safety Bill, including requirements for premises information boxes, floor plans, lift inspections, fire door checks, evacuation signage, and fire safety instructions to residents.

Read Full Response
Progress Timeline
Official Report
26 Feb 2025

Completed via the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (in force 23 January 2023). Responsible persons must undertake monthly checks of lifts for use by firefighters and report faults electronically to their local fire and rescue service.

Source
Source
Inquiry Grenfell Tower Inquiry
Report Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report 30 Oct 2019
View Source
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Fire risk assessment failures High-rise fire evacuation policy Lifts Fire Safety
Recommendation age 6.4 yrs
Last formal update 391 days ago