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Publishing fire risk assessments might feel strange – but it’s the right thing to do

Hackney Council is publishing 1,800 assessments following the Grenfell Tower fire, Philip Glanville explains more

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Hackney Council is publishing 1,800 fire risk assessments #ukhousing

Why publishing fire risk assessments is the right thing to do #ukhousing

Ministers have now backed calls for all social housing providers to publish fire risk assessments (FRAs) – something we’ve been doing in my borough of Hackney in east London since mid-July, following the devastating Grenfell Tower fire.

When I tell colleagues in other organisations that we’ve taken the unprecedented step of publishing more than 1,800 FRAs of the homes we manage online for all to see, they look at me with a mix of confusion and bewilderment.

We have now nearly finished the task with over 1,760 uploaded – more than any other housing provider in the country.

Let’s be honest – FRAs aren’t perfect.


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They might not assess cladding, they might not include detailed investigation, and crucially, they’re a snapshot of what was found at the time of inspection.

They’re an MOT of a building’s safety, not a comprehensive service.

But I’m proud that we’ve led the way with this commitment to transparency, so crucial to maintain trust with tenants and leaseholders – and rebuild it where necessary – after the tragedy in Kensington.

“FRAs are an MOT of a building’s safety, not a comprehensive service.”

Publishing them in Hackney has thrown up a range of questions from residents, staff and the press and caused a severe strain on our day-to-day work – one that isn’t going to subside any time soon.

But if we’re going to have a fundamental conversation about fire safety in our country, and reassure residents who too often feel that as landlords we have a hidden agenda that doesn’t represent their interests, then surely we must start from an honest statement of the facts.

On that dreadful morning in June, I woke up to a flurry of emails from our tenants, understandably worried about whether their home was at risk.

It’s a reminder of our core function as landlords and local authorities – to keep people safe.

So publishing FRAs, and working with emergency services to improve them, is just one part of reassuring residents – and ourselves – that our buildings are safe.

Like many others, we’ve also ordered independent inspections of all cladding, commissioning further work where necessary, set up a dedicated, highly visible fire safety team, and brought in an independent fire safety advisor, a former fire brigade borough commander.

Most importantly, we’ve spoken to and listened to our residents.

We sent letters, newsletters, had teams on the ground, published blogs and web pages and gave regular updates to our local media – as well as holding meetings and starting a formal council scrutiny process.

This work won’t stop – it is the new reality we face as landlords. I’m proud of this work and I’m clear that we’ll have to do more of it. But we can’t do it alone.

“The current building regulation system is not fit for purpose”

Two things are clear from the past few months – the current building regulation system is not fit for purpose, and the vital fire safety improvements necessary in the coming years risk decimating the budgets of councils and housing associations unless the government changes tack.

We’re already hamstrung by the borrowing cap, rent reductions and seven years of austerity, which has hampered our attempts to maintain existing homes and build the thousands of new properties our residents desperately need.

All of this means we have arbitrarily limited resources to fulfil three competing priorities – vital fire safety work, improvements and repairs to existing homes, and building a new generation of council housing.

“We cannot be forced to choose between fire safety and fixing the wider housing crisis.”

Safety work must take priority.

But we cannot, and will not, be forced to choose between that and fixing the wider housing crisis.

We should not be forced to choose between the safety and quality of our tenants’ homes.

Ministers should use next week’s Budget to avoid this invidious choice.

By making a clear commitment to funding fire safety work nationally, and establishing a new independent institute for fire safety that would carry out a root-and-branch reform of our rotten system, this government can demonstrate that it has listened to the clear voices of social housing tenants.

Philip Glanville, mayor of Hackney

Never Again campaign

Never Again campaign

Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire

Never Again: campaign asks

Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.

LANDLORDS

  • Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
  • Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
  • Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
  • Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents

GOVERNMENT

  • Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
  • Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
  • Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)

We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.

The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.

 

READ MORE ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN HERE

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