A coroner's report into a previous fire recommended a review of building regulations four years ago. Successive ministers said they were "still looking at it."

Theresa May’s new chief of staff was one of a series of housing ministers who “sat on” a report warning high-rise blocks like Grenfell Tower were vulnerable to fire for four years.

A former Chief Fire Officer and secretary of a parliamentary group on fire safety today revealed successive ministers had had damning evidence on their desks since 2013 and nothing had happened.

And the Labour MP who chairs the group said ministers had “sat on” the recommendations for almost four years.

Gavin Barwell, who was housing minister until losing his seat in last week’s election, promised to review part B of the Building Regulations 2010, which relate to fire safety, but the review never materialised.

A coroner’s investigation into the blaze at Lakanal House in South London in 2009, which claimed six lives, found panels on the exterior of the block had not provided the required fire resistance and insufficient fire risk assessments had been made.

The coroner made a series of recommendation following the tragedy, but while some have been taken up, a full review of building regulations has yet to take place.

Former Housing Minister Brandon Lewis admitted fitting sprinklers saves lives, but said it was not the government's responsibility to insist on them

A former Tory housing minister warned MPs against beefing up fire safety regulations, because it could discourage house building.

Brandon Lewis admitted automatic sprinklers save lives, but said it was not the government's responsibility to encourage developers to fit them.

It was revealed this morning that successive ministers had "sat on" evidence that suggested thousands of tower blocks like London's Grenfell House were vulnerable to fire.

The coroner's report into a 2009 blaze in London recommended building regulations be updated, and called for developers refurbishing high-rise blocks to be encouraged to install sprinkler systems.

But five years later, Mr Lewis told MPs: "We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation."

He said the Tory government had committed to being the first to reduce regulations nationwide, pledging a one in-two out rule.

He added: "The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building—something we want to encourage—so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has."

Jeremy Corbyn tried to pass through a law that would required private landlords to make their homes safe and “fit for human habitation” last year – but it was rejected by the Conservatives.

Labour proposed an amendment to the Government’s new Housing and Planning Bill – a raft of new laws aimed at reforming housing law – in January last year, but it was rejected by 312 votes to 219.

According to Parliament’s register of interests, 72 of the MPs who voted against the amendment were themselves landlords who derive an income from a property.

The amendment will surely now be scrutinised after a London fire in the 27-storey residential Grenfell Tower in North Kensington claimed a number of lives and resulted in multiple casualties.

Residents had previously complained that only a catastrophic event would expose the ineptitude and incompetence of the landlord and “bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders”.

Teresa Pearce, the shadow housing minister who proposed the amendment in January 2016, said at the time that renters lacked “basic consumer protection” when things went wrong.

“The majority of landlords let property which is and remains in a decent standard. Many landlords go out of their way to ensure that even the slightest safety hazard is sorted quickly and efficiently,” she said.
“So it is even more distressing when we see reports of homes which are frankly unfit for human habitation being let, often at obscene prices.

“Where else in modern day life could someone get away with this? It’s a consumer issue. If I purchased a mobile phone or a computer that didn’t work, didn’t do what it said it would or was unsafe I would take it back and get a refund.”

The Government claimed the new law would result in “unnecessary regulation”.

Scot Dutchy wrote:But this seems a disaster waiting to happen. Who is responsible for fire inspection; the fire service or local council?

monkeyboy wrote:[...] Someone somewhere is going to likely be jailed over this though. [...]

Byron wrote:

monkeyboy wrote:[...] Someone somewhere is going to likely be jailed over this though. [...]

Possibly. Plenty will be looking for a scapegoat, but it's reported that the building and refurb were signed off by the relevant authorities. Manslaughter isn't easy to make out. The residents' association foresaw a disaster, but if people followed lethally flawed building regs, little can be done.

First priority's gotta be finding the cause and urgently inspecting similar buildings to prevent another disaster.

Calilasseia wrote:Meanwhile, there's a report in the International Business Times, that the zinc cladding on the outside of the building, that is being investigated as a contributory factor in the unusually rapid spread of the blaze, was ordered so that rich people living in adjacent upmarket suburbs wouldn't have a plebeian eyesore to look at, and could continue living in their gilded bubbles blissfully unaware of the serfs in their midst.

Well, they've got one hell of an eyesore to look at now, haven't they?

Which they wouldn't have, if the £8.6 million blown on a cosmetic facade, had been spent on improving fire safety instead.

Calilasseia wrote:Oh dear, this is starting to look entirely predictable ...

Theresa May's chief of staff 'sat on' report warning high-rise blocks like Grenfell Tower were vulnerable to fire

A coroner's report into a previous fire recommended a review of building regulations four years ago. Successive ministers said they were "still looking at it."

Theresa May’s new chief of staff was one of a series of housing ministers who “sat on” a report warning high-rise blocks like Grenfell Tower were vulnerable to fire for four years.

A former Chief Fire Officer and secretary of a parliamentary group on fire safety today revealed successive ministers had had damning evidence on their desks since 2013 and nothing had happened.

And the Labour MP who chairs the group said ministers had “sat on” the recommendations for almost four years.

Gavin Barwell, who was housing minister until losing his seat in last week’s election, promised to review part B of the Building Regulations 2010, which relate to fire safety, but the review never materialised.

A coroner’s investigation into the blaze at Lakanal House in South London in 2009, which claimed six lives, found panels on the exterior of the block had not provided the required fire resistance and insufficient fire risk assessments had been made.

The coroner made a series of recommendation following the tragedy, but while some have been taken up, a full review of building regulations has yet to take place.

Tory minister warned against beefing up fire safety rules to include sprinklers because it could discourage house building

Former Housing Minister Brandon Lewis admitted fitting sprinklers saves lives, but said it was not the government's responsibility to insist on them

A former Tory housing minister warned MPs against beefing up fire safety regulations, because it could discourage house building.

Brandon Lewis admitted automatic sprinklers save lives, but said it was not the government's responsibility to encourage developers to fit them.

It was revealed this morning that successive ministers had "sat on" evidence that suggested thousands of tower blocks like London's Grenfell House were vulnerable to fire.

The coroner's report into a 2009 blaze in London recommended building regulations be updated, and called for developers refurbishing high-rise blocks to be encouraged to install sprinkler systems.

But five years later, Mr Lewis told MPs: "We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation."

He said the Tory government had committed to being the first to reduce regulations nationwide, pledging a one in-two out rule.

He added: "The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building—something we want to encourage—so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has."

Meanwhile, here's a scan of a threatening letter sent to someone blogging about the fire hazards in those tower blocks:



The landlords responsible had already been issued two legal warnings about fire safety in the tower blocks that they managed

Jeremy Corbyn tried to add an amendment to housing legislation to make homes safer last year - the Tories filibustered it

Jeremy Corbyn tried to pass through a law that would required private landlords to make their homes safe and “fit for human habitation” last year – but it was rejected by the Conservatives.

Labour proposed an amendment to the Government’s new Housing and Planning Bill – a raft of new laws aimed at reforming housing law – in January last year, but it was rejected by 312 votes to 219.

According to Parliament’s register of interests, 72 of the MPs who voted against the amendment were themselves landlords who derive an income from a property.

The amendment will surely now be scrutinised after a London fire in the 27-storey residential Grenfell Tower in North Kensington claimed a number of lives and resulted in multiple casualties.

Residents had previously complained that only a catastrophic event would expose the ineptitude and incompetence of the landlord and “bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders”.

Teresa Pearce, the shadow housing minister who proposed the amendment in January 2016, said at the time that renters lacked “basic consumer protection” when things went wrong.

“The majority of landlords let property which is and remains in a decent standard. Many landlords go out of their way to ensure that even the slightest safety hazard is sorted quickly and efficiently,” she said.
“So it is even more distressing when we see reports of homes which are frankly unfit for human habitation being let, often at obscene prices.

“Where else in modern day life could someone get away with this? It’s a consumer issue. If I purchased a mobile phone or a computer that didn’t work, didn’t do what it said it would or was unsafe I would take it back and get a refund.”

The Government claimed the new law would result in “unnecessary regulation”.

An action group for Grenfell Tower claimed, before the fire, that the property was being managed by unscrupulous landlords milking the property for profit, describing them as a "mini Mafia"

Pages from the Grenfell Action Group blog include this one and this one.

Of course, the Tory Party voted against legislation in the past aimed at compelling landlords to make their properties fit for human habitation ... guess how many of the Tory MPs who voted against make their money as landlords? Here's a full list.

So now the Tory Party stands as visibly preferring to see the plebs burn to death, rather than constrain avaricious rentier profits.

Rumraket wrote:

Tzelemel wrote:Looks like the fire spread through recently added Aluminium Cladding

Wow, that page was taken down fast.

Page not found
The page you were trying to access either does not exist or has been moved.
Click here to return to the homepage.

Harley Facades Limited completed the refurbishment work to Grenfell Tower. This included the installation of exterior cladding. The Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels are a commonly used product in the refurbishment industry. Harley Facades Limited do not manufacture these panels.
Commenting on the fire, Ray Bailey, Managing Director at Harley Facades Limited said:
“This is an incredibly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the residents and their families who have suffered such a personal loss. We will fully support and cooperate with the investigations into this fire. There will be many questions about this whole incident and so you will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for us to comment or for others to speculate on any aspect of fire or it causes in advance of these inquiries. At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.”

I'm With Stupid wrote:

Rumraket wrote:

Tzelemel wrote:Looks like the fire spread through recently added Aluminium Cladding

Wow, that page was taken down fast.

Page not found
The page you were trying to access either does not exist or has been moved.
Click here to return to the homepage.

The put a statement on their Facebook page.

Harley Facades Limited completed the refurbishment work to Grenfell Tower. This included the installation of exterior cladding. The Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) panels are a commonly used product in the refurbishment industry. Harley Facades Limited do not manufacture these panels.
Commenting on the fire, Ray Bailey, Managing Director at Harley Facades Limited said:
“This is an incredibly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the residents and their families who have suffered such a personal loss. We will fully support and cooperate with the investigations into this fire. There will be many questions about this whole incident and so you will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for us to comment or for others to speculate on any aspect of fire or it causes in advance of these inquiries. At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.”

Introduce a new Fire Precautions Act to regulate buildings and hold developers to account.

In 1971, following several serious nightclub fires, the Fire Precautions Act was introduced, giving fire officers the legal right to assess any building for fire risk and safety. This allowed firefighters absolute and forensic familiarity with buildings on their grounds, both the structure and composition of them, and was designed to prevent shoddy workmanship putting people at risk.

This Act was abolished in the 1990s after landlords heavily lobbied MPs for their own power to decide what was safe and what wasn't.

This self-regulation does not work. Important planning documents have gone missing from Grenfell in the wake of an investigation. The cladding on the outside of the building seems to have been completely unfit for purpose. There were inadequate means of escape. People have lost their lives.

In order to prevent further tragedy, we need to hand back control of fire risk assessments to the people who run into those buildings to put them out. We owe it to our firefighters, our residents, and ourselves, to put this right, as quickly and effectively as possible.