H&F: Homes not Fire-Safety Checked (Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats)

Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats <info@hflibdems.org.uk>

H&F: Homes not Fire-Safety Checked

September 30, 2009 11:25 PM

Fire safety assessments have not been carried out on at least 300 social housing tower blocks in London, according to a BBC London report this week, with Hammersmith and Fulham Council named as one of the worst culprits.

34 high-rises in Hammersmith and Fulham have not been checked for fire risks by the Council, according to the BBC, marking the council as one of the worst performing in London (after Lambeth, Greenwich and Westminster).

The report comes three months after the fire at Lakanal House in Southwark which killed 6 people, in a building which was known for years to have been dangerous, but which had not been professionally assessed.

Parliamentary spokeswoman Merlene Emerson is concerned that the BBC concludes that not only are there hundreds of blocks housing thousands of social housing tenants without fire safety checks, but that many councils are in clear breach of the 2005 Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order, which makes it mandatory for a fire risk assessment to be carried out before major refurbishment. This includes much of the work done under the Decent Homes programme which, although centrally funded, has been carried out by H&F Council, most notably at Fulham Court.

The report does not identify any links between these failures and the hiving off of social housing management to AMLO's (Arms Length Management Organisations) such as H & F Homes. However Merlene agrees with the report that it is worth investigating whether such links might exist. H & F Homes just last month was given a two-star rating by the Audit Commission, after being graded only one-star at its previous inspection.

"We find it surprising that Hammersmith and Fulham's Conservative administration are busy trying to demonstrate to their party's front bench that they are at the cutting edge of new thinking on how social housing should be managed and reduced, given that their appalling record of failure on protecting social housing."