Agenda item

To receive questions from Members under Rules 4a.20(b)-25

Councillor Ben Staines asked:

1. Does all social housing used by Horsham district residents have up-to-date fire safety certificates?

2 Do all the facilities that are used by members of Horsham district staff have up-to-date fire safety certificates?

3. How often are fire safety checks carried out to social housing and the facilities used by staff?

4. Are there any instances in the last three years where fire safety checks were failed and what actions were taken to remedy this?

5. How many instances in the last three years were the fire brigade called to deal with incidents at social housing or at Horsham district facilities?”

Councillor Ray Dawe, Leader replied as follows:

1. Fire safety certificates predate the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  It is now up to the ‘responsible person’, i.e. the landlord/owner/employer effectively to ‘self-certify’ by doing a fire risk assessment for a building.  

Horsham District Council does not own social housing but uses Social Landlords such as Saxon Weald.  Landlords are individually responsible for ensuring that annual fire risk assessments are undertaken and that all health and safety regulations are adhered to.

The Council does own temporary accommodation and all these premises comply with statutory requirements and written Fire Risk Assessments are updated on an annual basis.  All fire alarms, smoke detectors and emergency lighting in communal areas are checked on a monthly basis and some premises are checked weekly.

If the Council has to use bed and breakfast accommodation (B&B) for emergency housing the B&Bs have a legal obligation to carry out a fire risk assessment.  We have checked with our current suppliers and each has an up to date assessment.

We have also checked with Saxon Weald.  Immediately following the fire at Grenfell Tower their Board asked for a report, which concluded that all fire certificates for their buildings are regularly inspected and tested and they carry out detailed fire risk assessments conforming to all regulatory requirements.

2. Fire assessments are undertaken at all relevant sites.  Such premises are also the subject of regular testing regimes and drills.

3. Whilst Fire Risk Assessments are annual, as a minimum fire alarms are tested weekly.

4. There have been no incidents.

5. The Council does not have any social housing of its own.  The housing associations we use such as Saxon Weald have the entire responsibility for their housing and their tenants.  The Council does not keep records. Having said that, we are aware of one incident in which a social housing unit was damaged by fire.

In the last two years there have been three fires on HDC-owned property but none which were housing related.  For information they were: a fire in the bin store at Piries Place; Southwater Country Park garage fire; and a small fire in the stairwell at Piries Place. There is no record of injury having occurred in any of these incidents

There is no residential accommodation in the District which is above 18 metres (six storeys) in height.