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Fire safety audits of flats fall 12%

Fire safety audits of blocks of flats fell by 12% last year, official statistics show.

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Fire safety audits of flats fall 12% #ukhousing

According to figures released by the Home Office yesterday, 3,097 blocks of four storeys or above were examined by fire authorities in 2016/17.

That is more than 400 fewer than in 2015/16, when 3,534 were assessed for fire safety.


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It is also the second-lowest number since 2009/10, when the Lakanal House fire in south London claimed six lives.

However, numbers of fire safety audits of flats have fluctuated over the past eight years, with the fewest carried out in 2014/15.

“Over the past 10 years the total number of fire incidents in England has more than halved and while fire-related deaths can fluctuate between years, they have undergone a long-term downward trend,” a Home Office spokesperson said.

“This government will always make sure that fire services have the resources they need to do their important work, but it is the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority to manage its resources across prevention, protection and operational response to meet local risk.”

The figures also showed a 4% cut in the number of firefighters in England, down by 1,346 and a 10% decrease in the number of fire and rescue support staff, from 7,952 to 7,132.

Fire safety audits of all buildings fell by 14% to 54,247.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats said cuts to fire services’ budgets were behind the figures.

“The fire service is struggling to cope after seven years of reckless cuts,” said Chris Williamson, shadow fire services minister.

“The figures reveal the limits of the Tories’ concern for improving fire safety. The next Labour government will halt cuts to the fire service and recruit 3,000 new firefighters to keep our communities safe.”

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for communities and local government, said: “The government must reverse these cuts and give fire services the resources to keep our communities safe.

“As the Grenfell Tower tragedy showed, we urgently need to invest more in fire prevention. Fire services need more staff so they can carry out vital safety checks and ensure buildings are safe.”

Fire safety audits are carried out by fire and rescue authorities to check that fire safety is being properly managed in buildings. They involve examining the premises and relevant documents, as well as talking to members of staff to discuss their awareness of fire safety.

Of the blocks of flats audited in 2016/17, 78% were considered satisfactory by fire authorities, while 22%, or 666, were unsatisfactory. Of all buildings audited, 68% were deemed satisfactory.

Among 1,140 audits of houses in multiple occupation, more buildings were found to be unsatisfactory than satisfactory – with 583 failing to meet the grade.

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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