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Morning Briefing: government rejects Leeds sprinklers request
The government has rejected a request from Leeds City Council to fund the installation of sprinklers in the city’s tower blocks.
In the news
The BBC reports that former communities secretary Sajid Javid gave the council a “sound no” after it asked for financial support.
Instead, the council is set to spend £10m on installing sprinklers in all of Leeds’ 116 tower blocks.
Last week, prime minister Theresa May welcomed Inside Housing’s Never Again campaign, which calls on the government to fully fund the installation of sprinklers.
At the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, survivors have told how they ignored advice from firefighters to ‘stay put’, the BBC reports.
Miguel Alves and his wife Maria de Fatima rescued their children from the 13th floor shortly after the fire had started, with their daughter Ines taking nothing with her but her notes for her chemistry GCSE exam the next day. Ines, the inquiry heard, got an A in the exam.
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Meanwhile, The Guardian has a story on warnings from the charity Trussell Trust on the dangers of Universal Credit.
According to the charity, food bank use will soar once the new benefits system is rolled out to three million more people from next April.
And in Property Wire, there is a story about property supply. According to the outlet, the number of new properties listed for sale in September across the UK increased by 18.1% in the month.
Finally, in continued coverage of last week’s Conservative Party conference, Building reports on comments from the housing minister about build quality.
Kit Malthouse, it says, took a series of swipes at house builders at the conference, complaining that there is “not much” quality design in new homes at the moment.
On social media
New @theifs report t.co/TIfsqDbbjB shows that industries like transport equipment, chemicals and clothing, which trade a lot with the EU and for which non-tariff barriers will be important, likely to be hardest hit by any additional post Brexit trade barriers.
— Paul Johnson (@PJTheEconomist)New @theifs report https://t.co/TIfsqDbbjB shows that industries like transport equipment, chemicals and clothing, which trade a lot with the EU and for which non-tariff barriers will be important, likely to be hardest hit by any additional post Brexit trade barriers.
— Paul Johnson (@PJTheEconomist) October 5, 2018
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.
