Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director.

People Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 7 September 2017 and its comments will be reported.

The Director (BA) presented the report recommending a new Fire Safety Management Policy in respect of the Council’s housing stock and requesting whether escape routes should be managed under a ‘managed’ or ‘sterile’ approach. Members were advised that, following recommendations of the Health and Safety Executive, the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority and Local Government Authority, officers were recommending a ‘sterile/‘clear and clean’ policy. This would be carefully phased in through facilitation, implementation, and enforcement. It was important for the policy to be fully explained to tenants and the issue of additional storage addressed.

The Portfolio Holder for City Transformation, Energy and Transport emphasised the need to ensure that there was engagement with the tenants with support from the Fire Service.

Members supported the implementation of a ‘sterile/clear and clean’ policy to ensure tenants safety with the need for consultation and education on its introduction. It would also be important that tenants recognised that ‘escape routes’ were not communal areas and should not be obscured. 

RECOMMENDED to Council that:-

(1)       a new Fire Safety Management Policy be adopted meaning that designated escape routes and alternative routes which could be used for escape should be maintained free from all obstacles in order to secure tenant safety and the Council’s compliance with statutory duties;

(2)        approach to implementing the policy be phased over time to include awareness raising, consultation on storage requirements and fire safety education; and

(3)        the additional funding required to implement the adopted option for the management of the Council’s Housing Stocks, costs to be met from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), as set out in the report, be approved.