Agenda item

To consider Item 15

The Group Commander Technical advised that this report was to update Members on the progress to date in response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy on 14 June 2017, and in response to the recommendations made in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report, published on 30 October 2019. The report described how the initial improvement activities commenced immediately after the tragedy and did not wait for the recommendations to be published. Significant progress had been made in implementing National Operational Guidance across the Service, and within the Thames Valley, and the Service had been proactive in its approach to collecting, assessing and sharing site-specific risk information. The Service’s fleet was well-equipped, and there was continued investment in equipment to assist in dealing with these risks.

The Group Commander Technical advised Members that the report also described the prevention challenges, where it was often the case that people who were vulnerable to the risk of fire also resided in many of the high rise buildings. The report also summarised the engagement initiatives and interventions undertaken to make these residents safer. The report highlighted how the protection teams were well-aware of the challenges and risks associated with methods of modern building construction, and how they had taken a targeted approach to ensuring the highest risk premises remained safe. The Protection teams had also been proactive in liaising with other local authority departments responsible for enforcing areas of the building where the Authority was not the enforcing agency.

In terms of the recommendations from the Phase 1 report, 15 were complete, 18 were in progress and the Service was prepared for the impacts of the remaining 13. Looking forward, the Authority had received some central support grant funding, which was being used to bolster Protection capacity and capability. Specific funding had also been allocated to support investment in technology to assist in implementing the Inquiry recommendations.

A Member asked if there was anything further the Service could do in relation to the poor response to consultations with hard-to-reach communities who often lived in these buildings and was advised that this was being managed by the Prevention Team who had been particularly proactive in ensuring that the stations and community safety teams were engaging with those at-risk people. The Prevention Team worked very closely with local authorities, landlords and resident groups, and with a range of partners to try to understand the risk and vulnerability impacts on residents and how this can be addressed as closely as possible through the Service’s prevention work.

A Member asked about plans for a building in central Milton Keynes that would be around 23 floors high, and had the Authority been involved in the fire safety aspects of the planning application and also with taller buildings coming to Milton Keynes, was the Authority anticipating increasing its capacity to deal with any incidents that may occur and was advised that the Authority was a statutory consultee under building control matters and in relation to the impact any new building may have on the Authority, Firefighters undertake site specific risk assessments on buildings, in terms of mobilizing for an alarm or incident at the site from the point it was being built, all the way through to the point it was being occupied.

RESOLVED –

That the report be noted.

(Councillor Christensen left the meeting)