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Disability campaigners hit crowdfunding target to challenge government’s evacuation plan stance
Disability campaigners have raised enough funds to challenge the government in the High Court over its decision not to implement a key Grenfell Inquiry recommendation on the provision of evacuation plans.
The Leaseholder Disability Action Group, known as Claddag, said it is “thrilled” to have raised more than £21,500 for the legal challenge and has set a court date for the hearing at the beginning of December.
The group aims to challenge the government’s decision to ditch mandatory personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) despite this being specifically recommended by the first phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
Claddag decided to launch a crowdfunding appeal to make sure it had a fighting fund to protect itself from legal fees and court costs if the Home Office wins the case.
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When the group was granted permission to apply for the judicial review in September, the judge also imposed a “cost-capping order”, meaning if campaigners lost they would only have to pay legal costs up to £20,000.
Helped by a £10,000 donation from Law for Change, Claddag has now reached its fundraising goal.
In a statement, Claddag said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the high level of support, from so many individuals and organisations, to help us reach this important stage in fighting this injustice. We shouldn’t have to challenge fire safety equality for disabled and older people at judicial review, but now we have this opportunity, along with our allies, we are putting all we have into fighting their discriminative and offensive decision. We all need to feel safe in our homes.”
The government decided against bringing in PEEPs in May, claiming that they would not be practical, proportionate or safe, and that disabled residents should either stay put or rely on rescue by firefighters.
The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 disproportionately killed residents with disabilities who were unable to evacuate. None of them had been provided with PEEPs, in accordance with official guidance that said such plans were “usually unnecessary”.
The judicial review is being brought by Sarah Rennie and Georgie Hulme, the two founding members of Claddag, who sent the government a pre-action letter in June.
Both women live in multi-storey blocks with fire safety issues and both have struggled to secure PEEPs in the absence of any government guidance or clear requirements.
This is the latest in a line of threats of legal action served by legal firm Bhatt Murphy in an effort to prevent the government from ditching the proposal for PEEPs.
In its case, Claddag is alleging that the outcome of the PEEPs consultation was “unlawful” and that the process was “unfair”.
In addition, the group will argue that a failure to implement PEEPs is a breach of disabled residents’ right to life and freedom from discrimination under the European Convention of Human Rights, and that the government failed to understand the rationale behind the PEEPs recommendation.
The case will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on 6 and 7 December.
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