Fire Safety Crisis: Fire Safety and Local Councils

It is clear that the country is facing fire safety crisis in the area of social housing. It has been reported that:

The Local Government Association has said that local councils cannot afford the substantial fire-safety upgrades to social housing recommended in the wake of the Grenfell fire

The Local Government Association represent more than 400 English and Welsh local authorities. It has released a statement saying:

It is clear that the current building regulation system has failed. It is also clear that councils cannot afford to carry out this work.

The chair of the LGA’s safer and stronger communities board said

the government should meet the exceptional cost to councils of removing and replacing cladding and insulation on high-rise blocks

The government is under fire for neglecting fire safety. It is understood that housing ministers sat on a report urging action over high-rise blocks.  Sajid Javid sought to place much of the blame squarely at the feet of local authorities in a speech in July when he said:

Speaking to survivors, people in the local community, and people in tower blocks around the country, one thing is abundantly clear — local government is facing a looming crisis of trust

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has said:

We’ve been clear with councils and housing associations that we expect them to do whatever local fire services and experts say is necessary to make residential buildings safe.  We will ensure that where local fire services have advised works are essential to ensure the fire safety of a building, current restrictions on the use of financial resources will not prevent them going ahead.

 

In July 2017, it was announced that Dame Judith Hackitt’ will carry out an independent review of building regulations and fire safety.  The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has claimed that this is an important step towards stopping tragedies like Grenfell Tower. The report is due in the Spring of 2018.