Written evidence submitted by the National Fire Chiefs Council [EXA 091]

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee inquiry into exempt accommodation which opened on the 7 December 2021.

NFCC is the professional voice of the UK fire and rescue services (FRSs) and is comprised of a council of UK Chief Fire Officers. The vision of the NFCC is to improve safety in communities by working collaboratively with FRSs, promoting national approaches where they work best. One of the NFCCs overarching objectives is the promotion of greater collaboration between Housing, Care and Fire authorities to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach to fire safety regulation and standards.

This submission was put together by the NFCC Protection Policy and Reform Unit and the NFCC Prevention Committee. We have not answered the terms of reference directly but addressed the Fire Safety issues that arose out of them.

NFCC would be happy to follow up with any of the issues raised within this written evidence in either further written evidence or verbal evidence if the committee so requires.

Introduction

NFCC welcomes the opportunity provided by this Inquiry to better understand the challenges faced within the Supported Housing Sector, and ways to improve standards within this sector through exploring the quality and funding of Exempt Accommodation provision. However, we are disappointed that the Inquiry may miss an opportunity to understand more about the intersection between those that occupy these premises, the housing providers and fire safety.

The Person-Centred Approach to prevention adopted by the NFCC recognises that risk reduction measures should be developed around the health, behaviour, and the wider needs of the individual, not solely by the type of premises in which they reside. As it is these underlying causes that can increase an individual’s exposure to fire and can also reduce the chances of them surviving a fire in the home.

NFCC is very concerned with existing gaps in regulatory oversight of the fire safety arrangements within all forms of Supported Housing irrespective of their status as exempt accommodation.

This gap in regulatory oversight between Housing, Care and Fire Authorities means that these most vulnerable members of society remain at a disproportionately high risk of injury and death from fire in their own dwellings, particularly those living in multiple occupied properties, such as Supported Housing and Houses of Multiple occupation (HMO).  There are many examples of this gap in oversight leading to Enforcement Action and Prohibition Notices under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to remove imminent risk to residents due to poor standards.    The NFCC would be happy to share these examples with the committee if required.

This risk is unacceptable from an Equality Impact Assessment perspective and is not in compliance with either the Public Sector Equality Duty or Local Authority Safeguarding responsibilities.

Identification of property used as ‘Supported Housing’ for vulnerable residents

There is currently no formal mechanism for the identification of all types of Supported Housing and the needs of residents that may expose them to increased fire risk, which would enable systematic scrutiny of the safety management or housing standards of these property types by the local housing authorities, Fire Service, or Care Quality Commission (CQC). In some cases, supported housing does not require any form of statutory licencing or notification by the operator/landlord when they are first established, or at any time, so they are often completely unknown to all the regulators and oversight of safety and standards is not completed. It is recognised that for local authority areas that have a HMO licensing regime, this may get picked up at the point of licensing, however, where there is no additional licensing scheme this will not occur.

To address this gap there is an urgent need for enhanced licencing or registration schemes by Local Authorities that takes into account the standard of accommodation and the needs of the individual. These may be applied at the point of planning applications for Supported Housing or HMOs, or when social care providers commission or fund placements for vulnerable occupants in Supported Housing or a HMO.

This licencing or registration scheme will provide the basis for increased collaboration on standards between Fire Services, housing providers and care support providers, ensuring appropriate entries can be made to respective databases or one national digital system to identify the vulnerable and dependent nature of the residents. This scheme will enable the sharing of intelligence between the various stakeholders and service providers of fire prevention activities, operational tactics and safeguarding provisions necessary to ensure the residents / individuals are safe from fire in their homes. 

The licencing or registration scheme can also provide an opportunity to monitor minimum standards through scrutiny of Fire Risk Assessments, Person Centred Fire Risk Assessments, and the provision of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) for these most vulnerable residents.  It will also allow essential fire safety arrangements and adaptations specifically for these vulnerable residents to be considered such as monitored fire detection, protection to escape routes and emergency plans. NFCC would like to see, a cohesive and consistent set of expectations for residents across both the social housing and private rented sectors. This would mitigate social inequities and help make safe housing a right to all members of society, rather than a privilege to some, as highlighted in our response to last year’s Charter for Social Housing Residents – Social Housing White Paper, which we are happy to provide copy of if required.

Potential Minimum standards for fire safety measures in Supported Housing

NFCC strongly support the principle of minimum standards for all housing types and tenures including Supported Housing as this will create a level of consistency for fire safety, whatever type of property someone resides in as highlighted within our response to the Review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) Phase 2, which we have attached a copy of with this response. Minimum standards will also help to ensure consistency of applications by landlords, Local Housing Authority officers, Fire Risk Assessors and Fire Service Regulators.  It will also mean that landlords / providers as Responsible Persons or others subject to ensuring that minimum standards are met will have the same expectations placed upon them.

NFCC would particularly like to see minimum standards in Supported Housing environments where there are residents with specific needs who may require assistance with evacuation in the event of a fire or need more complex fire protection standards due to their vulnerability.  Currently, the HHSRS scoring mechanism only takes into account age as an indicator of vulnerability, factors such as the occupant’s ability to self-evacuate and the need for evacuation management is not considered as part of HHSRS.  Any proposed minimum standards would need to address this creating clarity to ensure further confusion is not created.

We would also like to see a requirement for an appropriate Fire Risk Assessment by a competent person to be set as a minimum standard in all Supported Housing provisions.  This would help align the HHSRS process under the Housing Act 2004 with the proposed changes in the Fire Safety Act and the Building Safety Bill. In Supported Housing this minimum requirement should be extended to become a Fire Risk Assessment which complies with the PAS 79 methodology rather than any simpler methodology/format.

Minimum standards for specific fire safety measures such as fire detection and alarm systems, emergency lighting should be aligned with current British Standards or other fire safety guidance. Fire safety management is also an important part of overall fire safety and minimum standards for routine inspection and maintenance should also be included. 

Exempt Accommodation within Guidance

NFCC is supportive and working collaboratively with Government departments in their efforts to review and update all fire safety guidance as part of the introduction of the Fire Safety Act and the Building Safety Bill. We believe this guidance review project should be used as a basis for both quantitative and qualitative minimum standards for fire safety under the HHSRS regime.

NFCC are aware that the current suite of guidance does not currently cover exempt accommodation premises, we would suggest that this gap could be overcome through the use of an addendum or an additional chapter referencing fire safety in such buildings, within existing guidance. 

NFCC supports the principles behind the LACORS Housing Fire Safety Protocol which establishes arrangements for collaboration between Fire Services and Housing Authorities and believes it has a continued relevance.  However, the protocol has been in circulation for several years and is outdated.  It also specifically excludes the ‘Supported Housing’ and ‘Hostel’ type properties despite these accommodating some of the most vulnerable people in society.

The protocol must be updated to define and clarify the responsibilities of the FRS and the LHA in respect of the legislation they enforce and promote greater coordination and collaboration with Supported Living type accommodation.

Prevention / Community safety

Community education and safety are a key component of prevention and in ensuring the safety of vulnerable people within these types of housing. NFCC has extensive experience of delivering successful community safety campaigns and research including Home Fire Safety Visits which educate people about being safe from a fire in their homes. We recommend a holistic resident engagement approach that has residents truly at the heart of it resulting in a person-centred approach to fire safety in the home. 

Ensuring that service commissioners, housing providers and residents are aware of their respective role and responsibility in keeping themselves and their building safe is key to successful resident engagement, which in turn acknowledges the need to build on the findings of the MHCLG Best Practice Pilot Group research. It also provides the right platform for trust to build and allow for open conversations between the residents and the landlords, particularly those most vulnerable. 

The NFCC recommend that all providers of supported housing adopt the use of the NFCC Online home fire safety check which is available on an open digital platform and encourages a person centred approach to fire risk assessment. This initial risk assessment should be carried out in conjunction with the individual and with their consent. The hyperlink above provides further details of this tool which is available in England and links to every Fire and Rescue and allows onward referrals to FRS for further fire risk assessment for those at higher risk of fire. 

January 2022