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A firefighters’ union has told the government to rethink its decision to reject a key recommendation from the Grenfell inquiry that would ensure disabled people could safely evacuate high-rise blocks of flats in emergencies. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the […]
The government has agreed that its new building safety regulator will carry out an assessment of how disabled people can safely evacuate from high-rise buildings. The proposal was included in the government’s new building safety bill as it finished its progress […]
Disabled campaigners say they are “horrified” and “sickened” by the government’s “unconscionable” refusal to ensure that disabled people living in high-rise buildings have the right to a personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP). Fire minister Lord [Stephen] Greenhalgh told fellow peers on […]
A senior civil servant has told the Grenfell inquiry that the government probably “forgot” to seek disabled people’s views on how residents with physical impairments could evacuate tower blocks in an emergency, six years before the devastating fire. Brian Martin, who […]
The government repeatedly failed to seek the views of disabled people and their organisations about how residents with physical impairments could evacuate tower blocks in an emergency, six years before the Grenfell Tower disaster. Louise Upton, who was head of fire […]
Two disabled peers have warned the government that disabled people living in high-rise flats will again be forgotten – five years on from the Grenfell disaster – if its building safety bill fails to make their need for protection explicitly clear. […]
Disabled campaigners have launched legal action over the government’s decision to award a crucial fire safety contract to consultants who have repeatedly argued against introducing written evacuation plans for disabled residents of tower blocks. Claddag, a leaseholder action group led by […]
Disabled activists are “shocked and outraged” at the government’s decision to commission fire safety guidance from a company that produced a “discriminatory” and “discredited” policy on evacuating disabled people that was in place at the time of the Grenfell tragedy. Consultants […]
New government plans that would protect some disabled people from the risk of fire in residential buildings do not go far enough, and even suggest that disabled residents might have to pay for measures to keep them safe, say campaigners. The […]
Disabled people who lease their own flats in high-rise buildings have been left frightened for their lives, but also in fear of losing their homes, because of the government’s failure to address the growing post-Grenfell safety scandal. A new campaign group, […]