31/01/2023
A sin of omission or a sin of Commission?
The exchange below which took place in the House of Commons yesterday during Michael Gove’s statement highlights why disabled residents in multi-storey buildings are terrified.
The question is, are the lack of PEEPs “a sin of omission or a sin of commission” by Local Authorities and Managing Authorities given the clear LGA legal advice (see below)?
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall) (Lab/Co-op)
I want to draw the Secretary of State’s attention to an area that is often forgotten: safety for disabled residents.
We know that the death rate for disabled residents in high-rise buildings is quite high. This delay has had a catastrophic effect. In December, a constituent emailed me to say that his young relative, who was in a wheelchair, had died when a fire broke out in her flat because she had no way to escape.
Avoidable tragedies such as that will keep happening until we make the change. How can this be acceptable?
Michael Gove
The Hon. Lady is completely correct. There are some inherited structural problems with high-rise buildings in this country, which make life more difficult for residents living with disabilities. For example, we tend to have one staircase only, whereas other countries tend to have two.
Critically, one recommendation from the inquiry—the need for personal emergency evacuation plans—is one that the Government have not yet met. I have been working with my colleagues in the Home Office to make sure that we do, but I understand her exasperation. We need to move more quickly to give disabled people the certainty that they will be safe.
Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)
On what date can we expect a positive response on personal emergency evacuation plans and the next and final stage of leasehold reform, to put it in the history books?
Michael Gove
On PEEPs, I am reliant on the good offices of my friends in the Home Office. They are working hard and I hope to update the House shortly.
Local Government Association:
“Part 3 of the Equality Act 2010 imposes an anticipatory duty on councils and housing associations in relation to allocation of tenancies and the management of let properties: see Nur & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2021] EWHC 1138 (Admin) (04 May 2020) (Nur). This means that they are under an anticipatory duty to consider the requirements of their disabled residents without those residents having to ask.”
And
“This duty to disabled residents applies in all blocks, not just those with simultaneous evacuation.......... We have shared with government details of Leading and Junior Counsel’s opinion which explain the Part 3 Part 4 Equality Act legislation.”