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| Grenfell Tower fire: was Tory austerity to blame or do problems date back to Blair? | Grenfell Tower fire: was Tory austerity to blame or do problems date back to Blair? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have clashed over whether the tragic deaths of 80 people in Grenfell Tower fire is “one of the disastrous effects of austerity” or has been developing as a result of decades of neglect dating back at least to Tony Blair’s government in the 2000s. | Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have clashed over whether the tragic deaths of 80 people in Grenfell Tower fire is “one of the disastrous effects of austerity” or has been developing as a result of decades of neglect dating back at least to Tony Blair’s government in the 2000s. |
| Austerity? | Austerity? |
| Corbyn enraged Tory MPs by linking the deaths to Tory spending cuts since 2010 but his criticism was actually quite specific. His general case rested on two points: the first being that if local authority budgets are cut by 40%, as they have been as a result of the 2010 austerity budget, and fire service cuts have resulted in 11,000 fewer firefighters then there is likely to be a “price paid in public safety”. | Corbyn enraged Tory MPs by linking the deaths to Tory spending cuts since 2010 but his criticism was actually quite specific. His general case rested on two points: the first being that if local authority budgets are cut by 40%, as they have been as a result of the 2010 austerity budget, and fire service cuts have resulted in 11,000 fewer firefighters then there is likely to be a “price paid in public safety”. |
| But Corbyn didn’t just make a general case, he made specific accusations. He said local authority cuts had led to fewer building control inspectors and fewer planning inspectors and that the recommendations of a coroner’s report into the Lakanal House tower block fire in Southwark in 2009 had not been acted on and building regulations had not been overhauled. He said these “terrible consequences of deregulation and cutting corners” stemmed from a “disregard for working-class communities”. | But Corbyn didn’t just make a general case, he made specific accusations. He said local authority cuts had led to fewer building control inspectors and fewer planning inspectors and that the recommendations of a coroner’s report into the Lakanal House tower block fire in Southwark in 2009 had not been acted on and building regulations had not been overhauled. He said these “terrible consequences of deregulation and cutting corners” stemmed from a “disregard for working-class communities”. |
| Decades of neglect? | Decades of neglect? |
| May responded by insisting that this was a matter that had been developing over decades and happened under governments of all complexions and under councils of all political persuasions. “The cladding of tower blocks began under the Blair government,” said May, adding that the key issue was not the laws involved but how inflammable materials that did not comply with building regulations were put up in at least 120 tower blocks. | May responded by insisting that this was a matter that had been developing over decades and happened under governments of all complexions and under councils of all political persuasions. “The cladding of tower blocks began under the Blair government,” said May, adding that the key issue was not the laws involved but how inflammable materials that did not comply with building regulations were put up in at least 120 tower blocks. |
| In particular, she pinpointed the 2005 regulatory reform (fire safety) order introduced under Blair’s government that shifted the responsibility for fire inspection from the fire brigade to the local council. She claimed it had “ended the practice of routine fire inspections”. | In particular, she pinpointed the 2005 regulatory reform (fire safety) order introduced under Blair’s government that shifted the responsibility for fire inspection from the fire brigade to the local council. She claimed it had “ended the practice of routine fire inspections”. |
| Fire service cuts | Fire service cuts |
| Corbyn is right to say that since 2010 fire safety audits and inspections were cut by a quarter as fire authority budgets were cut. But Home Office figures published on Tuesday show that fires in high-rise, purpose-built flats fell by 40% from 1,261 to 714 between 2010 and the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The number of deathsfell from 12 to three over the same period. | Corbyn is right to say that since 2010 fire safety audits and inspections were cut by a quarter as fire authority budgets were cut. But Home Office figures published on Tuesday show that fires in high-rise, purpose-built flats fell by 40% from 1,261 to 714 between 2010 and the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The number of deathsfell from 12 to three over the same period. |
| The fire statistics do confirm that fire safety audits in England fell by 20% from 77,532 to 63,201 over the same period, though the number of audits in flats of four storeys or more were prioritised and actually rose from 2,944 to 3,534. In London, audits fell from 14,091 in 2009-10 to 13,709 in 2015-16, while safety audits on blocks of four storeys or more rose from 1,307 to 2,507. | The fire statistics do confirm that fire safety audits in England fell by 20% from 77,532 to 63,201 over the same period, though the number of audits in flats of four storeys or more were prioritised and actually rose from 2,944 to 3,534. In London, audits fell from 14,091 in 2009-10 to 13,709 in 2015-16, while safety audits on blocks of four storeys or more rose from 1,307 to 2,507. |
| The Lakanal House coroner recommended the government encourage all local councils to consider retrofitting sprinkler systems in their tower blocks. The government says it wrote to councils about this but refuses to release the letter or the responses. | The Lakanal House coroner recommended the government encourage all local councils to consider retrofitting sprinkler systems in their tower blocks. The government says it wrote to councils about this but refuses to release the letter or the responses. |
| Building regulation cuts? | Building regulation cuts? |
| The Lakanal House coroner also recommended that the impenetrable building regulations be simplified, but stressed the need for “clear guidance regarding the spread of fire over the external envelope of the building and the circumstances in which attention should be paid to whether proposed work might reduce fire protection”. The building regulations have yet to be updated in these ways. | The Lakanal House coroner also recommended that the impenetrable building regulations be simplified, but stressed the need for “clear guidance regarding the spread of fire over the external envelope of the building and the circumstances in which attention should be paid to whether proposed work might reduce fire protection”. The building regulations have yet to be updated in these ways. |
| While the number of building control surveyors in England and Wales has fallen by 1,000 to 3,000 during the past decade it doesn’t seem to be relevant in the case of Grenfell Tower. | While the number of building control surveyors in England and Wales has fallen by 1,000 to 3,000 during the past decade it doesn’t seem to be relevant in the case of Grenfell Tower. |
| The building was inspected at least 16 times by Kensington and Chelsea council over two years while the £10m refurbishment project was under way but the checks failed to spot that the building was clad in material effectively banned by the government. This substantiates the local Labour MP’s claims that enforcement of the building regulations had become so poor in recent years that they were treated as guidelines rather than regulations. | |
| Local authority housing cuts? | Local authority housing cuts? |
| The public spending squeeze has required local authorities to place price over quality. In the case of Grenfell Tower, Kensington and Chelsea Council rejected an £11.3m bid for the refurbishment from the original contractor, Leadbitter, in 2012 which said it couldn’t meet the council’s target price of £9.7m. Rydon, the successful contractor, offered to do the same work for £8.7m. Rydon’s work rapidly became controversial with tenants and is now the subject of police investigation. So the need to cut costs could be a key factor. | The public spending squeeze has required local authorities to place price over quality. In the case of Grenfell Tower, Kensington and Chelsea Council rejected an £11.3m bid for the refurbishment from the original contractor, Leadbitter, in 2012 which said it couldn’t meet the council’s target price of £9.7m. Rydon, the successful contractor, offered to do the same work for £8.7m. Rydon’s work rapidly became controversial with tenants and is now the subject of police investigation. So the need to cut costs could be a key factor. |
| But the five Camden council blocks that have been evacuated were built in 2006 – before the Tory coalition austerity budgets – as part of a housing pathfinder private finance initiative. This method of financing meant the risk and capital was raised by the private and not the public sector with a profit incentive. One result was that the contractors rather than the architects were left in the driving seat for the project. | But the five Camden council blocks that have been evacuated were built in 2006 – before the Tory coalition austerity budgets – as part of a housing pathfinder private finance initiative. This method of financing meant the risk and capital was raised by the private and not the public sector with a profit incentive. One result was that the contractors rather than the architects were left in the driving seat for the project. |
| So is Tony Blair’s government to blame? | So is Tony Blair’s government to blame? |
| May pressed this claim in the Commons, quoting a 2005 fire safety regulation that switched the responsibility for fire risk assessments from the fire brigade to the local council. But her focus on this was misleading. | May pressed this claim in the Commons, quoting a 2005 fire safety regulation that switched the responsibility for fire risk assessments from the fire brigade to the local council. But her focus on this was misleading. |
| The Lakanal House coroner did raise this issue in 2013 but said there was confusion about whether they should extend to the interior of flats in high-rise towers to check whether fire could spread easily within the building and its “compartmentation” had been breached. The government disagreed that the existing guidance needed clarifying. | The Lakanal House coroner did raise this issue in 2013 but said there was confusion about whether they should extend to the interior of flats in high-rise towers to check whether fire could spread easily within the building and its “compartmentation” had been breached. The government disagreed that the existing guidance needed clarifying. |
| The same coroner’s report noted that until 1985 it had been compulsory to use cladding that was FR60 – flame resistant for 60 minutes – but that had become discretionary as a result of Margaret Thatcher’s mid-1980s “bonfire of red tape”. The problem does go back decades, as May claims, but Tory cuts, Labour privatisation, and council parsimony of all stripes have had a role to play. | The same coroner’s report noted that until 1985 it had been compulsory to use cladding that was FR60 – flame resistant for 60 minutes – but that had become discretionary as a result of Margaret Thatcher’s mid-1980s “bonfire of red tape”. The problem does go back decades, as May claims, but Tory cuts, Labour privatisation, and council parsimony of all stripes have had a role to play. |