The Home Office are seeking views on new proposals to implement
the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 recommendations on Personal
Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) in high-rise residential
buildings.
The proposals will place new requirements on owners or managers
of multi-occupied high-rise residential buildings to prepare a
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for every resident in a
high-rise residential building who self-identifies as being unable
to self-evacuate and to do so in consultation with the
resident.
The consultation acknowledges that PEEPs in high-rise
residential buildings are currently not commonplace and that PEEPs
are more common in the workplace.
PEEPs in the workplace seek to provide people who cannot get
themselves out of a building unaided with a bespoke escape plan in
a fire emergency. However, the workplace and residential building
are different and therefore a PEEP in a residential setting will
need to reflect that different context.
The consultation also acknowledges that PEEPs need to reflect
the fact that high-rise residential buildings are different, built
at different times, using different techniques. Some will have a
'stay put' strategy in place, but others will require 'simultaneous
evacuation' in the event of a fire. Some buildings may employ staff
as caretakers or security staff, others will not. Government are
seeking views on how PEEPs will work in a high-rise residential
setting from all those impacted, including building owners and
managers (Responsible Persons), the Fire and Rescue Service and
residents.
Residents in high-rise buildings may include owner-occupiers,
private renters, social housing tenants or a mix of these. The
proposals set out in the consultation paper would apply to all
residents of high-rise buildings regardless of the category or
tenure and the expectation is that PEEPs in high-rise residential
buildings will help provide a tailored approach to evacuation for
those residents who would have difficulty self-evacuating in the
event of a fire.
The Government propose to place additional legal duties on the
"Responsible Person" (which includes building owners and managers)
and the consultation paper sets out 4 key proposals:
- Proposal 1: The Government propose to require the Responsible
Person to prepare a PEEP for every resident in a high-rise
residential building who self-identifies to them as unable to
self-evacuate (subject to the resident's voluntary
self-identification) and to do so in consultation with them.
- Proposal 2: The Government propose to provide a "PEEP template"
to assist the Responsible Person and the residents in completing
the PEEP, and to support consistency at a national level.
- Proposal 3: The Government propose to require the Responsible
Person to complete and keep up to date information about residents
in their building who would have difficulty self-evacuating in the
event of a fire (and who have voluntarily self-identified as such),
and to place it in an information box on the premises to assist
effective evacuation during a rescue by the Fire and Rescue
Service.
- Proposal 4: The Government propose, in order to assist the
Responsible Person and support consistency at a national level, to
provide a template to capture the key information to be provided in
the information box.
A copy of the consultation paper is available on the Home Office website and theconsultation
closes on 19 July and subject to consideration of the responses and
the final Ministerial decision, the intention is for the proposals
to be implemented in secondary legislation in autumn 2021.
These proposals will have significant implications for councils
that manage high-rise residential buildings and ARCH would like to
hear from member councils on their response to the proposals.
Please contact John Bibby, ARCH Chief Executive john.bibby@arch-housing.org.uk
with your views and comments. If your council intends to submit a
formal response to the consultation, please copy your response to
ARCH at the address above.