Basingstoke MP Maria Miller has welcomed the Government’s intention to bring forward legislation regarding better fire safety information for residents in high rise residential buildings.
Maria met Housing Minister Kit Malthouse for an update on these plans, and as a result has agreed to withdraw her Fire Safety Information Bill, which she had previously introduced in Parliament on 20 March 2018. This Bill would have required residents of high rise buildings to be provided with more information about the fire safety of their buildings, to have access to the annual fire risk assessment and to have an annual meeting with the “responsible person” to address any fire safety concerns.
Maria said: “Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy I made enquiries about high rise residential buildings in Basingstoke, both in respect of physical safety and also about residents’ concerns. I was also contacted by constituents who had concerns about their safety. My focus was on the fact that residents did not feel they had enough information about the safety of their homes, and felt that the building owners and managers were not always transparent about risks highlighted in the fire risk assessment.”
“I am pleased to learn that the Government plans to address these points in legislation in due course, and am therefore withdrawing my Private Member’s Bill. The Minister told me that the intention is to empower residents with relevant information about fire safety in their homes, and ensure they have regular opportunities to engage with those responsible for the safety of their homes. I will of course look carefully at the legislation when it is brought forward to ensure that it achieves what I was aiming for.”
Minister for Housing, Kit Malthouse MP said: “Nothing is more important than making sure people are safe in their homes.”
“Following the publication of Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations and fire safety, the Government committed to bringing forward legislation to give residents a stronger voice, particularly when it comes to fire safety. We will be setting out an implementation plan for that work in the autumn and we look forward to working with committed MPs like Maria from across the Hous