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Housing: Emergency Services

Asked by Lee AndersonReform UKMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled Answered 23 April 2026UIN 127839

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the number of houses in the UK with inadequate access space for emergency service vehicles.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

Approved Document B (Fire safety) provides statutory guidance on meeting the requirements of Part B of the Building Regulations. It includes provisions relating to adequate vehicular access for fire and rescue services, including requirements on the width, and turning arrangements of access routes, so that fire and rescue service vehicles can both enter and manoeuvre within new housing developments. Building control bodies are responsible for checking that new developments comply with these requirements before work is signed off.

The Department does not hold centrally collected data on the number of existing homes with inadequate access space for emergency service vehicles.

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