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Recommendation rejected by Pickles as ‘disproportionate’ in 2013 repeated in Grenfell Tower Inquiry
A recommendation branded “unnecessary and disproportionate” by Eric Pickles after the Lakanal House fire has been repeated today by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry judge.
The coroner investigating six deaths at Lakanal House in south London wrote to Mr Pickles, then communities secretary, with a series of recommendations to prevent a future disaster in March 2013.
This included a recommendation that owners of high-rise residential buildings be required to provide “relevant information on or near the premises, such as premises information boxes”.
Mr Pickles replied to her letter in May 2013 promising several actions to implement her findings, but specifically rejected this point.
He wrote: “On balance, we consider that a regulatory requirement would be unnecessary and disproportionate.”
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Today, Sir Martin Moore-Bick repeated the recommendation – saying that building owners and managers must “ensure that the building contains a premises information box, the contents of which must include a copy of the up-to-date floor plans and information about the nature of any lift intended for use by the fire and rescue services”.
Sir Eric told Inside Housing: “The reason I turned down the information boxes was on fire officials advise. Their view was that electronic versions are more accessible and up to date than paper copies for fire authorities. During any fire incidents, firefighters must have the most recent plan in a clear format.”
The report released today made repeated references to failures to learn the lessons from Lakanal House, particularly in regard to the firefighting strategy and ‘stay put’ advice. The question of how these lessons were missed is set to be a key part of the phase two investigation, which is due to start in January.
The Lakanal House coroner, Frances Kirkham, wrote to government with a number of recommendations including new national guidance about the interaction between ‘stay put’ and ‘get out’ advice.
This eventually resulted in the publication of a new guide for fire authorities, ‘Generic risk assessment 3.2’, in 2014, which warned that building failure may render stay put “untenable”.
Many building owners did not have a block-wide evacuation plan, however, partly as a result of government commissioned guidance, written by fire experts and published by the Local Government Association’s official guidance from 2011, endorsed by government, which encouraged reliance on stay put.
The government was also urged by the coroner to review its official fire safety guidance, Approved Document B, “with particular regard to external fire spread”.
Sir Eric said this would happen by 2016/17. Despite urgent calls from cross-party MPs and experts for an earlier review, it was not updated before Grenfell.
