Agenda item

To provide the Committee with an update on the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review into Fire Safety, which was carried out in 2019. The Committee previously received an update on the recommendations in October 2020.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee approved recommendations on Fire

Safety in High Rise blocks at its meeting on 25 March 2019 and Cabinet

provided a response at its meeting on 9 July 2019. A further update was

provided to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 5th October 2020. The Committee received a report which provided a further update on these recommendations. The report was introduced by Judith Page, Assistant Director of Housing Property Services. The Cabinet Member for Housing  Services, Private Renters and Planning was also present for this item. The following arose during the discussion of this report:

a.    The Committee sought reassurances about residents being able to report problems and the fact that the link on the Council’s website did not seem to work properly. Members noted that one of the main learning points from Grenfell was around residents being able to report concerns. The Committee questioned whether the Council had made it easy to report problems and how this was monitored. In response, officers acknowledged that there was a degree of development required within the IT processes. It was suggested that there had likely been some teething problems as different systems had been transferred over from HfH to the Council. Officers agreed to work with the relevant admin team to ensure that an email inbox was in place for residents to report issues. Members requested that reporting mechanisms also be advertised on the Council’s website. (Action: Judith Page).

b.    Officers advised that, as part of the relevant legislation, the pilot building safety case was being developed in Kenneth Rollins House and this pilot would be used for the development of building safety cases for other housing blocks. The Council was also required to develop a resident engagement plan for each block. In addition, the Council had approved funding for the recruitment of five building safety managers who would be responsible for specific high rise blocks. Officers acknowledged that this had not progressed as quickly as they would have liked, but to some extent this had been down to HfH coming back in house and the challenges faced from switching over. Officers advised that they were developing pipelines for residents to report issues and that site visits and walkabouts of estates were ongoing.

c.    In response to a follow-up question on timescales, officers advised that all high rise safety blocks under qualifying categories would need a building safety case in place by September 2023. The pilot in KR House would be completed in November. The Committee requested that officers come back to the Committee with a follow-up report on how the consultation pilot went and how this was being programmed into ensure that residents were able to report problems the wider programme of developing building safety cases. (Action: Judith Page).

d.    Members sought an update on the programme of intrusive fire risk assessments. In response, officers advised that they had reported these to elsewhere and that they could provide this to the Committee. The Committee requested that officers come back to the Committee with a full report on intrusive fire risk assessments along with an update in the pilot building safety case and any interim findings from the pilot, for the Committee’s next meeting on 28^th November. (Action: Judith Page).

e.    Concerns were raised about the ongoing failure to install a fire escape down from the communal walkway (onto Culvert Road) at Edgecot road. It was commented that a number of fire safety assessment had recommended the need for a fire escape but that this had not been carried out. Officers agreed to contact the Fire Safety team and get an update on the fire risk assessment for Edgecot Road and bring this back to the November meeting of OSC. (Action: Judith Page).

f.     The Committee sought assurances around care home provision and fire safety assessments. The Committee queried how the Council received assurances and monitored areas of concern in care homes, given that they were held by providers and reviewed by the Safeguarding Board. In response, officers noted that the CQC had strict monitoring processes in place, but that they would seek a written response from colleagues in Adults commissioning for the Committee. (Action: Judith Page).

RESOLVED

That the report was noted