The Government has announced £70 million in new funding to address skills shortages across the building safety professions, including fire engineering, in support of its ambition to deliver approximately 1.5 million new homes. 

This investment is intended to provide a significant boost to both the building control and fire engineering workforces, where shortages of suitably qualified professionals are currently constraining housing delivery. These capacity challenges were notably identified during the Grenfell Tower Inquiry as a critical issue impacting the safety and delivery of the built environment. 

The funding is expected to support the recruitment and development of up to 700 additional registered building inspectors, including those qualified at Class 3H level to assess higher-risk buildings. It will also contribute to increasing the number of fire engineers and expanding access to fire engineering education.

Samantha Dixon (Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy) said: “We’re boosting the building safety workforce to introduce more skilled building inspectors and fire engineers into the system quickly, keep people safe and unlock the new homes this country needs. This is a vital step forward in building 1.5 million safe homes and ensuring that we continue to deliver on lessons learned from the Grenfell Tower tragedy.” 

Three-year programme 

The three-year programme responds directly to recommendations from the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, which called for increased capacity within building control and fire engineering. Further evidence submitted to the Building Control Independent Panel, alongside input from the Fire Engineers Advisory Panel, has reinforced the need for a workforce that is appropriately trained and qualified to meet regulatory and safety demands. 

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry also highlighted the shortage of competent professionals in safety-critical roles, with specific recommendations relating to both building control and fire engineering functions. 

Of the total funding, £55 million has been allocated to building control and £15 million to fire engineering. Within building control, funding will support local authorities in England to recruit and train new registered building inspectors to Class 2 level. Additional investment will enable the upskilling of existing inspectors to undertake work on higher-risk buildings. Funding will also be directed towards training new entrants across both registered building control approvers and local authority teams. 

Fire engineering 

The allocation for fire engineering will focus on strengthening higher education provision, including the introduction of postgraduate bursaries, as well as supporting research and wider academic development within the discipline. 

Details of the application process for accessing this funding are currently being developed, with further information expected in the coming months. 

Dr Benjamin Ralph, head of building and fire safety at built environment consultancy Hollis, commented: “For too long, workforce shortages in Building Control and fire engineering have created a bottleneck that affects both the safety of existing buildings and the pace at which new homes can be delivered. This new funding recognises that you cannot deliver safe housing at scale without the professionals to design and approve it. The investment in fire engineering education and research is particularly welcome. A three-year programme signals the kind of sustained commitment the sector really needs.”

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