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Disability campaigners lodge High Court challenge over government’s rejection of Grenfell Inquiry recommendation

A group supporting disabled residents is formally pursuing legal action against the government over its “failure” to implement a critical Grenfell Inquiry recommendation on the provision of evacuation plans. 

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Picture: Getty
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The Home Office is being taken to the High Court by two disabled residents over its plan to ditch a critical Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendation #UKhousing

The Leaseholder Disability Action Group, known as Claddag, made an application for judicial review against the Home Office last week. It aims to challenge the government’s decision to ditch mandatory personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs).

This is despite its recommendation by the first phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. 

In its response to the consultation in May, the government claimed that PEEPs 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.


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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. 

The government had initially proposed limiting it only to buildings where there was a waking watch in place due to fire safety issues. 

But an action brought on behalf of the family of a disabled woman killed in the fire resulted in the Home Office opening a specific consultation in the summer last year on the implementation of PEEPs. 

This consultation produced overwhelming support for the concept, with 83% of respondents endorsing the proposal.

The government held a series of one-to-one meetings with housing providers, but then elected to reject the consultation proposal on the basis of practical concerns raised at these meetings. 

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. 

Claddag has made an application for the High Court to consider the case “urgently” and it expects to hear next month whether permission has been granted to proceed. 

The issue of PEEPs has caused a storm of debate in the housing and fire safety sectors in recent years. 

While some argued it is impossible to achieve without permanent staffing, others pointed to the use of buddies, such as neighbours and relatives, who could be called upon to assist with the evacuation. This is the approach taken in office blocks, where they are a legal requirement. 

The ‘buddies’ approach was endorsed by the National Fire Chiefs Council in draft guidance it prepared for buildings with fire safety issues in September last year. This guide was not published, but was obtained by Inside Housing.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

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