Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment introduced a report on the fire safety systems and procedures in place for the Council’s housing stock and the additional measures undertaken in response to the recent Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The Cabinet Member advised that officers were mid-way through the annual cycle of fire risk assessment (FRA) updates for all properties with communal areas at the time of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and additional resources were committed to enable that work to be completed, and any actions points remedied, without delay.  The frequency of inspections had also been increased, with all blocks of eight storeys and above now being reviewed every three months.

The findings and action plans stemming from FRAs were to be published to the Council’s website as a further means of helping residents understand what to do in an emergency.  On that issue, it was noted that residents of the Council’s sheltered housing accommodation had each received a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP). 

The Cabinet Member confirmed that the Council had always been open and transparent regarding the findings from FRAs and the Leader remarked that it was very unfortunate that one of the national political parties had used the publication of FRAs following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in an attempt to score political points. 

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the fire safety systems and procedures in place for the Council’s housing stock, as set out in the report;

(ii)  Agree that the Council publishes a forward programme of FRAs on its website;

(iii)  Agree that the Council publishes a summary of the findings for each FRA on its website; and

(iv)  Agree that the Cabinet be presented with an annual report on fire safety issues.