The Government Has Now Responded To The Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing Plus Consultation

Residential Personal emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) will soon be necessary

It was recommended by Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry that the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to prepare personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) for all residents whose ability to self-evacuate may be compromised (such as persons with reduced mobility or cognition). The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention has yesterday issued the response to a consultation on emergency evacuation information sharing, which addressed these recommendations.

An initial consultation on PEEPs was held between June and July 2021 and it was made clear that there were substantial difficulties in the proposed mandating of PEEPs in higher-risk buildings due to practicality, proportionality and safety concerns. As a result, following this consultation it was decided not to mandate PEEPs.

However, since this initial consultation, there have been significant strides in the building safety field e.g., the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the Building Safety Act 2022 (and related secondary legislation) and new guidance and fire safety guides published. Therefore, the issue has been re-examined in a further consultation between May and August 2022. This consultation sought views on proposals for Responsible Persons ("RPs") to identify and engage with mobility impaired residents to offer them Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessments that consider what interventions might be reasonable to implement and to make that information available to the local fire and rescue service, who would factor this information into their operational response.

The consultation outlined a 5-step process to make up the emergency evacuation information sharing proposals:

• Define the building evacuation strategy;
• Identify those needing support to evacuate;
• Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessment checklist;
• Sharing information with the local fire and rescue service; and
• The fire and rescue service being able to access and use this information in the event of a fire.

As part of this 5-step process, RPs would be required to carry out Fire Risk Assessments that are focused on any residents whose ability to self-evacuate has been compromised. This assessment is intended to identify the risks to the individual, their ability to evacuate and the measures that could reasonably be implemented to mitigate those risks.

Drawing from the responses to the consultation, which was made up of enforcing authorities, RPs, building owners, residents, disability groups and others, the consultation came to the following 15 conclusions:

1. There is widespread recognition and support for enhanced safety measures for residents of high-rise and higher-risk buildings that have difficulty self-evacuating;
2. There is no major barrier to prevent the proposed 5-step process from being implemented;
3. There is no evidence that RPs have been able to implement workplace-type PEEPs in a residential setting that are safe, proportionate and practical, but further evidence of evidence is requested;
4. Legislation is to be introduced to deliver the 5-step process and will be distinct from residential PEEPs;
5. Residential PEEPs will be mandated for all higher-risk buildings and those between 11-18m with simultaneous evacuation strategies;
6. The Government will work with RPs to further develop the RP toolkit for fire safety initiatives and will provide practical examples to assist with compliance. Within it will encourage RPs to establish local schemes for volunteers to assist vulnerable residents;
7. RPs will be mandated to take reasonable steps to identify vulnerable residents and use reasonable endeavours to establish contact;
8. High-level Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessments will be mandated that consider matters such as risks present in individual flats, resident ability to self-evacuate, risks present in common areas, implementing measures to assist (such as volunteers or family members) and residential PEEPs that consider the evacuation strategy for the building;
9. As part of the Person-Centred Fire Risk Assessments, it would be a matter for the resident to source assistance with evacuation (e.g., neighbours or family);
10. The RP will ultimately be responsible on what measures get implemented, even if those measures are voluntary assistance from residents' family;
11. Guidance will be issued on whether the measures ought to be paid by the Responsible Person, individual residents where they are the only beneficiary or residents collectively if the measures benefit all leaseholders. It is noted that the Government has committed funding to support social housing providers deliver Residential PEEPs for their renters;
12. At the end of the risk assessment process, the RP will be responsible for recording arrangements in the Residential PEEPs (e.g., arrangements with neighbours);
13. Regulation will be made to require RPs to provide the fire and rescue service with specific information on all vulnerable residents in in-scope buildings;
14. Employing dedicated staff to support evacuation is likely disproportionate in most cases; and
15. Building level evacuation plans will need to be produced for all higher-risk residential buildings and for residential buildings between 11-18m with simultaneous evacuation strategies; this is to include any arrangements implemented for vulnerable residents under the Residential PEEPs.

Accordingly, the Government will seek to work with various stakeholders and representative bodies to develop operational guidance, policies and toolkits. Subject to parliamentary approval, the Government shall also lay new regulations to enact the above outcomes on Residential PEEPs and building level evacuation plans as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows.

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