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A group of 14 councils have delivered a letter to the prime minister urgently requesting funding to retrofit sprinkler systems in their tower blocks.
Sharon Thompson, cabinet member for homes and neighbourhoods at Birmingham City Council, penned and handed over the letter today, which urged the government to pay for the installation of sprinklers in blocks over 18m for housing associations and councils.
The letter was also signed by representatives from Croydon, Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol, Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Solihull, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Coventry and Sandwell councils, as well as the Greater London Authority.
All the authorities are Labour controlled apart from Solihull, which is Conservative.
The letter calls on government to pay for sprinklers in areas where tenants have requested they be installed.
It read: “It has been over 21 months after the Grenfell tragedy, tenants are still seeking reassurance that lessons have been learned and we now call upon the government to prioritise the safety of residents living in tower blocks by funding this essential fire safety work.
“We would welcome an opportunity to discuss this matter at the earliest opportunity.”
Ms Thompson said Birmingham had committed to spending £54m over three years on fire safety in its 213 high rises.
“However, in a time of austerity, when local authorities across the country are and having budgets cut and are need to make some really tough financial choices, we need government to work with us and enable the recommendations put forward by experts to be implemented for the safety of citizens across the country,” she added.
Since the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Fire Protection Association, the London Fire Brigade, the Fire Sector Federation and the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group have all called for sprinkler retrofitting.
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee of cross-party MPs recommended that ministers make funding available for social housing blocks above 18m in a report last July.