Laminated glass ban webinar

The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) Document B Working Party recently held a members-only webinar on the GGF’s response to the government ban of the use of laminated safety glass, which applies to building attachments in buildings over 18m high in England and Wales and over 11m high in Scotland.

Since this ban was introduced in 2018, the GGF has been responding to government consultations surrounding this issue, and working towards facilitating a lifting of the ban via exemptions in Regulation 7 for the use of laminated safety glass in balconies and balustrades.

In late 2019, the GGF set up the Document B Working Party and, with the help of the GGF members, the GGF has undertaken large-scale testing on laminated safety glass.

The test report was then submitted to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for consideration in Jan 2021 and is now being submitted to the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Seventy-five GGF members logged in to the recent seminar, including most of the major companies in the sector, from glass manufacturers and processors through to components companies and installers.

Ben Wallace, GGF senior technical officer, said: “Undertaking such a large-scale project remotely in such difficult times has been extremely challenging. It is crucial that we keep up the hard work and keep working with government to get the right outcome for our members, the industry and consumers.”