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We need to go much further on fire safety
As the sixth month anniversary of Grenfell passes, Emma Maier says there is much for the sector and ministers to focus on
Six months after the worst fire in social housing history, it is incumbent on everyone to take stock. To consider progress made since the Grenfell fire and the mountain yet to climb. To hold a mirror up and ask whether everything possible is being done.
For survivors, progress has been painfully slow; inadequate.
There are 123 households from Grenfell and the surrounding Walkways still in temporary accommodation, mainly hotels.
The causes are numerous: a lack of preparedness, scarcity of social housing in the surrounding area, and complete lack of awareness on the part of government, which made unrealistic promises to rehouse people in days.
Progress on the wider work to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again has been mixed.
"For survivors, progress has been painfully slow; inadequate."
Inside Housing research with landlords with towers reveals extensive programmes of remedial work. Half of UK towers are in line for sprinklers, or the move is under consideration (a key strand of our Never Again campaign).
Dangerous cladding has been removed from at least 75 blocks, and landlords are undertaking a raft of other safety measures.
The cost for the two-thirds of blocks covered by our research will come in at well over £500m.
Progress is in spite of government turning down council requests for financial help and refusing to fund sprinklers.
However, there is much more for landlords to do.
Our research suggests that 53% of towers have not had a fire risk assessment since Grenfell, and 31% have assessments that are more than a year old. While councils are increasingly complying with the Information Commissioner’s instruction to publish assessments for tenants, housing associations lag woefully.
Since Grenfell, government has professed its commitment to social housing. If it is serious, it should be investing in quality and safety as well as quantity. Arguably, it is doing neither – the costs of remedial work footed by landlords are likely to creep ever closer to the extra “£2bn boost for social housing” announced in October.
From a safety point of view, ministers also need to look beyond the social sector. In public government has attempted to confine the issue of fire safety to social housing. At the National Housing Federation conference, Sajid Javid even implied that such a fire could not have happened in the private rented sector.
Privately, however, ministers are aware of the risks – in the private rented sector (PRS), student housing, low-rise supported housing, hospitals and schools. Three months after the fire, government ordered councils to compile records on PRS blocks.
Our research confirms that progress is slow, with information gaps remaining. But even more worryingly, that the PRS could be more risky than social housing: the London Fire Brigade has issued 87 enforcement notices on privately owned blocks against 62 on social towers.
Perhaps this explains government’s focus on social housing. It has few, if any, levers to pull to resolve the PRS issues.
Yet PRS safety supports the already abundant evidence that this is a system-wide failure that requires a full systems review.
There is further to go. No one can afford to take their eye off the ball. Never again.
Grenfell: six months on
We have published a series of articles to mark the six month anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 71 people on 14 June.
Click on the links below to read the pieces:
Six months on from Grenfell, what has changed? Our news team looks at the progress made since the fire
Grenfell: the survivors' stories Read moving speeches to MPs from four people who survived the fire
Councils have no information on privately owned tower blocks It is not just social housing blocks councils need to keep an eye on when it comes to fire safety
Disguised by luxury: fire safety flaws in private blocks revealed Our research challenges Sajid Javid's suggestion a Grenfell-style fire couldn't happen in a luxury block
We need to go much further on fire safety Our editor Emma Maier outlines Inside Housing's view on the state of play
Half of high rises could get sprinkler refit We reveal the sector's projected spend on fire safety improvements since the disaster
The French connection The parallels between a fire in France and the Grenfell tragedy
Less than half of council tower blocks assessed since Grenfell Our exclusive research reveals the state of play regarding councils' fire risk assessments
Circus therapy for children affected by Grenfell How a group offering circus activities is bringing the community together
Dangerous cladding to be removed from giant modular tower blocks Housing association Notting Hill Housing is to spend £8m to remove dangerous material on six of its blocks
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.