Agenda item

As a landlord, H&F is the Responsible Person in law for managing fire safety of its 17,000 housing properties, of which just over 12,000 are tenanted households.

This report provides an overview of the fire safety arrangements in place, on-going monitoring and reporting arrangements and planned capital fire safety works.

Richard Buckley – (AD Resident and Building Safety Housing) introduced the report which provided an overview of the fire safety arrangements in place, on-going monitoring and reporting arrangements and planned capital fire safety works.

He explained that officers met with London Councils on a bi-monthly basis and these meetings were also attended by the Department for Levelling Up, GLA and Fire Brigade. During these meetings,  the London Fire Brigade provided an update on the status of large buildings and their evacuation procedures. It was noted that London had 60% of all the tower blocks nationally (of 6 blocks or above). He explained that one London Borough with 14 tower blocks was incurring costs of £450k per month in waking watch which many boroughs charged to leaseholders. Whereas in Hammersmith and Fulham, it was noted that the Administration had decided not to charge any leaseholders for these costs (or any associated fire safety costs).

Details were provided on accountabilities and the implications of the Buildings Safety Bill which was passing through Parliament. At this stage, it was still uncertain whether the height of tower blocks would be altered from 18 metres to 11 metres which would significantly increase the number of buildings officers would need to register. The roles and responsibilities of the Buildings Safety Bill regulator were provided and the requirement for all buildings of 18 meters or over to have a safety case file were discussed. It was apparent that the Buildings Safety Bill increased duties of care and held responsible persons / bodies to account.

Richard Buckley confirmed a Fire Safety Management system was in place to ensure buildings were safe for residents. It was noted that over 1,500 fire risk assessments had been conducted  for buildings of 6 storeys or above and these were reviewed annually, as were higher risk buildings such as sheltered housing and hostels. The Committee were reassured that when fires took place, processes and procedures were reviewed to see if any new learning had emerged. It was noted that as part of planned works all fire detection systems would be upgraded as part of an overall electrical upgrade over the next 5 years.

Information was provided on the Fire Safety Plus Scheme and fire safety measures which the Administration had committed to under its Capital Programme in 2018. The update also included details of the works which had been conducted In  Edward Woods (sprinkler systems) and Drake and Shackleton (sprinkler, fire detection systems and new evacuation plans). Richard Buckley confirmed the Council had its own specific Fire Safety Team for delivering works and Bazaars were currently conducting and independent safety audit of the Council

Making initial remarks, Councillor Lisa Homan commented it was vital that all Councillors were aware of the work which was being done on fire safety, as all Councillors were responsible for ensuring residents were safe. As Cabinet Member for Housing, she explained she had fortnightly updates which provided rolling updates of how works were progressing.  Given the challenging situation, Councillor Lisa Homan was also encouraged by how the Council was proactively adapting to Government guidance and the recommendations arising from the ongoing Grenfell enquiry.

Councillor Helen Rowbottom asked how the fire safety priorities dovetailed with the Council’s sustainability and ecological implications of its housing stock. In response, Richard Buckley explained that all capital projects were scoped to PAS 2035 standards before relevant Cabinet Members decided whether to agree the progression of specific projects. Richard Buckley highlighted there were cost implications of adopting a sustainable and ecological approach but works needed to be future proofed and this was something that needed to be allowed for.

Councillor Adronie Alford  asked how much the  rain screen and cladding removal from Edwards Woods block would cost. Richard Buckley confirmed this work was estimated to cost between £25 and £30 million which had been set out in Cabinet report which was approved in September 2021. He confirmed the Council had applied to the Building Safety Fund to assist with these costs and would be looking to apply for any grants, from a climate change perspective to also help.

Referring to Edward Woods, Councillor Adronie Alford noted that the Council did  not have a waking watch, but did use fire wardens, and asked if this was 24 hours per day. In response, Richard Buckley confirmed that fire wardens patrolled 24 / 7 and this work involved checking that the means of escape were not blocked with any combustibles or items such as bikes or scooter which would hamper egress. It was noted that these fire wardens were Council trained and so were fully conversant with their respective blocks and patrol parameters.

Councillor Adronie Alford  noted that Appendix 1 described the panel risk as high and asked how this was evaluated. In response, Richard Buckley confirmed the Council was responsible for 27 buildings with panelling and a list of ascending risk had been drawn up. Risk factors included the height of buildings, the amount of cladding and what the cladding was made from. Asking a supplementary question, Councillor Adronie Alford asked when officers anticipated they would start to remove the panels.  Richard Buckley confirmed that in many cases, contracts had been awarded for the removal, but contractors (and the use of expert contractors) were now assessing what the most effective method would be to remove the panelling safely.

The Chair, Councillor Rory Vaughan, noted the information that had been provided on the appointment of building safety managers and asked what plans were in place to ensure residents were kept aware of any new fire safety measures and any actions they needed to take. In response, Richard Buckley confirmed the Council had two building safety managers at present, and conversations were still ongoing nationally as to their function and competency. In terms of resident engagement, it was noted that the Fire Residents Action Group (FRAG) still existed (with an extended safety remit) and a key element of the Building Safety Bill was for every building to have its own bespoke strategy. In relation to notifying residents and ensuring they were kept informed, Richard Buckley confirmed this was achieved by using a combination of  the Housing Representatives Forum, FRAG (issues such as charging electric scooters in hallways and BBQs) and the Residents Engagement Team. Richard  Buckley also highlighted there were plans to roll out fire / building safety awareness training for residents via Zoom, webinars or in some cases, in person

Councillor Lisa Homan commented in relation to the Fire Brigade, that with the numbers of Council properties in the borough, there would inevitably be fires (with most being small and contained). When there were fires of consequence, she confirmed she was notified and advised about the incident. However, despite all best efforts, it was impossible to eliminate all fire risk from every property and the Council needed to mitigate this where it could.

Concluding the item, the Chair, Councillor Rory Vaughan, stated he was pleased the Council was taking a proactive approach and doing its best to get ahead of the curve in relation to recommendations arising from the Grenfell tragedy. He underlined the importance of residents being fully engaged with emerging guidance and confirmed the Committee wished to revisit the topic to monitor progress in the future.

RESOLVED

That the Committee reviewed and commented on the report.