RISCAuthority has produced a new toolkit to try and help users understand the complex, and at times confusing, legislative fire safety requirements of external building cladding systems. This work has been sponsored by the insurer members of RISCAuthority and the resulting toolkit has been made available to anyone via our website. The toolkit comprises :

• An interactive, web based tool that explains the fire rating requirements of external cladding systems for buildings in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, based on a number of simple questions
• A set of flow charts, covering each of those regions, which illustrate the decisions and factors that affect the fire performance requirements of key cladding elements
• A list of important links to building regulations and test standards documents, and relevant RISCAuthority resources

The FPA recognises that others may interpret the requirements set out in the Building Regulations and approved documents differently to that presented in this toolkit and recommend that users also refer to those documents for definitive guidance. This information provided here is intended to act as a stepping stone in the process of understanding this complex and controversial area of fire safety, and should only be used for initial guidance and the prompting of further investigation, rather than the direct selection of cladding systems.