Letter to Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Local Government

I have just written a letter to Sajid Javid, who is the key decision maker for our petition, calling on him to implement the recommendations, and also meet with us. Mr Javid is the minister in charge of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), where the report previously went, before Eric Pickles (then minister) did very little about it. Here is Mr Pickles response (I cannot call him Sir, though he is now): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205567/Annex_B_-_SoS_DCLG_Rule_43_response.pdf If you are keen to do more, please also email Sajid Javid (sj@sajidjavid.com), Alok Sharma (alok.sharma.mp@parliament.uk), Marcus Jones (marcus.jones.mp@parliament.uk), and/ or Jake Berry (jake.berry.mp@parliament.uk), who are all ministers at the DCLG. You can write your own email or letter, ideally linking to the petition, or you can use the one I've written: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr Javid, I am writing as the author of an online petition calling for the enforced implementation, by your department (as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), of the findings received by the coroner of the Lakanal House inquest in 2013. In brief these refer to: o Clearer guidance on when to use the seemingly counter fire safety guidelines “stay put” and “get out and stay out” o Improved fire assessments o Retro fitting of sprinklers o Significantly improved language in building regulations, to make it intelligible to all those who need to access them We currently have over 80,000 signatures. For your information, here is a link to the petition: https://www.change.org/p/implement-the-recommendations-of-the-lakanal-report One of your predecessors, Eric Pickles, response to the findings was to allow councils to individually decide whether they would or would not adopt them. Clearly this response was totally inadequate, as it was certainly a strong influencing factor in the tragic effects at Grenfell Tower on June 14th 2017. How many more have to die? It is vital that our Central Government take up the key role in ensuring that fire safety in Britain is given due attention. The similarities between Lakanal and Grenfell are startling, and indicate that there is something lacking at the core of the management of buildings by our local authorities. As the Secretary of State, it is your responsibility to ensure that our councils are not only held to account, but are provided with clear standards to adhere to. One of the reasons local authorities may not have followed the recommendations is that there has been an at least 20% fall in their funding over the last seven years. I recognise your measures to address this, in allowing them access to business rates, but strongly warn you that there will still be a significant deficit in services provided to the most vulnerable in our society. The Department for Communities and Local Government must support our local authorities, and provide sufficient funding to ensure our homes are safe. Failure to do so would be negligent. At Lakanal, 6 died. At Grenfell the figure is at least 79. Meet with us Whilst we feel that the recommendations of the Lakanal inquest would go a significant way, there is more that can be done. For example, compartmentalisation measures, review of housing alternatives for vulnerable people, and tighter regulations on building materials. Those measures need to come from Central Government, which is best placed to ensure improvements to principle regulations across the UK, such that no individual tenant need ask, “But what about my block?” Only Central Government, including the DCLG has the powers to enact real change here, and create a legacy of positive action in the face of tragedy. We strongly ask that you meet with us to discuss our proposals, and to give us an answer as to when the Lakanal recommendations might finally be implemented. It is our contention that their implementation might have prevented the tragedy at Grenfell. Yours sincerely, John Tyson Links Coroner’s Letter to the DCLG: https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/ec-letter-to-DCLG-pursuant-to-rule43-28March2013.pdf Mr Pickles’ Letter to the coroner: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205567/Annex_B_-_SoS_DCLG_Rule_43_response.pdf