Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedures for the operation of hybrid meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance on hybrid meetings be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Kate Gordon, David O’Keefe, Adrian Young, and Dominic Johnson.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: ‘In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.’

Any other announcements

Webcasting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live to the internet and would be capable of repeated viewing and copies of the recording could be made available to those that requested them. Those participating in the meeting were deemed to be consenting to being filmed.

There were none.

There were none.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd March 2022.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd March 2022.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd March 2022 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Borough Commander

London Fire Brigade performance in the London Borough of Camden. This includes selected operational statistics, community fire safety performance and regulatory fire safety information.

Consideration was given to the report of the Borough Commander.

Mark Davidson, Borough Commander, took the meeting through the report and gave the following key responses to questions:

·       Though approximately 43% of calls outs were in-practice false alarms, the fire service felt that they achieved more by working with the establishments where call outs were generated from rather than to seek to use the fire service’s ability to fine them. Resources could be better used in helping these establishment prevent this happening again where possible, rather than taking resources away from them through a fine.

·       The fire service did work with schools and the local community to help educate all parties about fire safety. As part of this process the fire service attended school assemblies, went to community events, had open day type sessions at fire stations, and could make information available in community languages.

·       Information would be provided in relation to the number of enforcement notices issued by the fire service over the last year that then led to a court case, along with the historic figures for false alarms, and provide information on trends on the various types of false alarms (including how the service has sought to address them, the types of responses and co-operation the service has had from establishments). 

ACTION BY: Borough Commander

·       Officers would provide the Borough Commander with a contact point in the Council so that the fire services was aware of community events that would be taking place in Camden. This would enable the fire service to plan for its attendance when appropriate, and ensure its information at these events best met the needs of those attending.  

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (MD)

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Property Management

The Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory requested a briefing note on the progress of Camden’s Fire Risk Assessment Programme.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Property Management.

Gavin Haynes, Director of Property Management, took the meeting through the report and gave the following key responses to questions:

·       Officers would now be again inviting TRAs and local tenants and residents to attend when a Fire Risk Assessment was taking place. Where no TRAs was in place then officers would contact tenants and residents on the estate. When the FRAs were taking place at a street property then officers would contact the tenant or resident directly.

·       Further information would be made available to tenants and residents in relation to the outcomes arising from the Fire Safety and Building Safety Acts and tenants own responsibilities, in the autumn edition of Housing News.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (MD)

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Property Management

The Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel requested a briefing note on how Camden services and maintains fire safety equipment that is installed within its housing stock.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Property Management.

Michael Killeen, Head of Strategic Asset Management and Compliance, took the meeting through the report and advised the panel that the information in the report did not relate to the Council’s commercial stock as a lot of work had already been done with the proprietors separately.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted

Report of the Director of Property Management

This report updates the Panel on the legislative progress on the Fire Safety Act and Building Safety Bill and other safety guidance and initiatives introduced by Government.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Property Management.

Melissa Dillon, Resident Safety Engagement and Governance lead, took the panel through the report and gave the following key responses to questions:

·       Officers would provide the panel with a copy of the Council’s response to the Government consultations on draft regulations they were planning for the definition of high-rise/higher-risk buildings that would be covered by the Building Safety Act, and the Leaseholder Protection Scheme when they were available.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (MD)

·       Information in relation to the Leaseholder Protection Scheme would be contained in the autumn or winter addition of housing news.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (MD)

·       Officers would set up an informal briefing for panel members in relation to the new requirements to put in place Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing arrangements, which would be replacing the need for Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPS).

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (MD)

·       As the Council was part of the early adopter scheme, it had been able to put in place a number of service changes to meet some of the regulatory requirements arising from the new legislation. Officers though did have some concerns that there was a lot of new complex or proposed legislation coming forward in housing, some of which did not always seem to link together very clearly or was changed after a great deal of scoping work had already been undertaken by authorities (e.g. PEEPS). Also the Council did not know whether the need to take forward these new requirements would come with additional resources or even allow the authority to seek additional burden funding.

·       Officers were working with colleagues in the fire service to ensure they were able to put in place appropriate arrangements that would meet the needs of appropriate services to deliver the regulatory requirements.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Property Management

The consider a possible work programme for future meetings of the panel as set out below:

12^th October 2022

·       Building safety cases update

·       Building Safety Charter Annual Delivery Plan monitoring for 2021/22

·       PEEPS regulations

24^th January 2023

·       Annual Report

·       Tenants Guide

·       Fire doors and closure mechanisms update

20^th April 2023

·       LFB Annual Performance report

Yet to be programmed

·       Emergency services communications

Consideration was given to the Forward Plan as set out in the agenda papers.

The meeting agreed to receive a report on the Council’s response to the Government consultations on the draft regulations they are planning for the definition of high-rise/higher-risk buildings that are covered by the Building Safety Act, and the leaseholder protection scheme. This would be submitted to the October meeting. Also a report on the results of the consultation on the Leaseholder Protection Scheme would be submitted to the January meeting.

ACTION BY: Director of Property Management (MD)

The meeting noted that the proposed report on Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPS) going to the October meeting, would now relate to the Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing (EEIS) scheme.

Officers would provide the panel with a note on the proposed changes to tenants guide in relation to the fire safety measures required to tenancy conditions, prior to the consideration of the changes that would be considered at the meeting in January.

ACTION BY: Director of Housing (AS)

New items in bold

12^th October 2022

·       Building safety cases update

·       Building Safety Charter Annual Delivery Plan monitoring for 2021/22

·       EEIS regulations

·       Government consultations – Council response to definition of high rise/high risk buildings and leaseholder protection

24^th January 2023

·       Annual Report

·       Tenants Guide changes

·       Fire doors and closure mechanisms update

·       Leaseholder Protection Scheme

20^th April 2023

·       LFB Annual Performance report

Yet to be programmed

·       Emergency services communications

RESOLVED –

THAT the work programme as outlined above be agreed.

There were none.