Extract from
PMQs
(Islington North)
(Lab): Since 2010, only a third of new schools have had
sprinkler systems installed, so parents are rightly concerned
about the safety of their children. In 2013, the Lakanal House
coroner’s letter formally recommended that the Government
encourage providers of housing and high rise residential
buildings to consider retrofitting sprinklers. Two years later,
Inside Housing reported that only 1% of council tower blocks had
sprinklers fitted. Can the Prime Minister let us know what the
Government actually did to encourage the retrofitting during the
last four years?
The Prime Minister (Mrs Theresa May): The
Government did indeed ensure that those local authorities were
aware of the recommendation that came from the coroner and they
did act on that recommendation. However, if we look at what has
happened and the identification of the issues in a number of
tower blocks so far, there are various issues that lead to
concern about fire safety. If we look at what has happened in
Camden, for example, where one of the five blocks was considered
to be habitable but four were not, that was not just because of
the cladding; it was because of other issues, in relation, for
example, to the gas riser.
All these issues raise wider questions about the inspections that
have taken place and about residents’ complaints and residents’
voices not being heard. That is an issue that has been raised at
Grenfell Tower and it has also been raised in Camden. This is a
much wider question. A terrible tragedy took place. People lost
their lives who should never have lost their lives. We need to
look at what has happened over decades in this country that has
led to this position, and that is exactly what we will do.
Extract from Queen's
Speech debate (Commons)
Dr (Central Ayrshire)
(SNP):...I am not saying that the local authority
was scrimping and saving because it did not have money; it was
because it was not spending the money. It used cheap panels and
it did not put in sprinklers. Some 600-plus buildings across
London and England are covered in panels that clearly contain
flammable materials. We hear from Camden that fire doors were
missing, despite millions of pounds having been spent. As Ben
Okri says in his poem, there has been a focus on surface and
appearance rather than on the substance of such buildings and the
protection of people who live in them...
