Letter to Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

I have just written a letter to Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, to call on his support for our petition, and to ask him to allow us to refer to that support in calling on the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to implement the Lakanal report's findings. So far we have not heard back from the DCLG, which is not surprising, since they have tried to distance themselves from any responsibilities. We are hoping that the Mayor's backing will add significant weight to our cause. He has publicly spoken about Grenfell, and we hope he will see the huge value in our objective. I also asked him to implement findings from a 2010 report from his own London Assembly, which specifically looked at high rise buildings. There are so many pieces of work already out there that those in power just need to enforce. If you don't live in London, you can still send an email to Mr Khan, though you might also like to send an email to your own local mayor, to ask for his support in calling on your own council to implement the Lakanal findings. I also sent my email to Lorraine Ford (lorraine.ford@london.gov.uk), who heads the Housing department at the London Assembly. Your own council should also have a housing officer, you might want to include. Should you wish to use my letter, you'll find it here: Dear Mr Khan, I am writing as the author of an online petition calling for the enforced implementation of the findings received by the coroner of the Lakanal House inquest in 2013. 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 Whilst we recognise that you do not have direct powers to enforce this across London’s councils, you are in a position to compel them to do so. Eric Pickles, a previous Minister for the Department for Communities and Local Government’s response to the findings was to allow councils to individually decide whether they would or would not adopt them. Clearly this response was grossly inadequate, as it was certainly a strong influencing factor in the tragic effects at Grenfell Tower on June 14th 2017. The Lakanal report findings called on them to: o Provide clearer guidance on when to use the seemingly counter fire safety guidelines “stay put” and “get out and stay out” o Improve fire assessments o Retro fit of sprinklers o Significantly improve language in building regulations, to make it intelligible to all those who need to access them In addition to your support of our petition’s aims, we are also calling on you to implement the recommendations from the London Assembly’s 2010 report (see link here), which were supported by the London Fire Brigade. We note the independent review you called for last year by Anthony Mayer. Whilst it showed that fire services were managing, the indication from the increased failure in wards meeting the average attendance time is that we are pressing our services too thinly. The long shifts that firefighters were required to cover to tackle Grenfell put their lives unnecessarily at risk from fatigue. How many more have to die? At Lakanal, 6 died. At Grenfell the figure is at least 79. As London continues to grow, and we live in ever closer quarters, the risk of death increases. Only through provision of appropriate fire services, and strong building and fire safety regulations can we continue to live in the secure knowledge that our lives are protected. Yours sincerely, John Tyson