Leader – Grenfell questions must not be deflected
Hackney Council says it wants to “reassure” residents in Hackney’s 181 tower blocks who are worried about fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Sadly, what the local authority has done since the fatal blaze on 14 June may have had the opposite effect.
The council claims to have inspected cladding in the blocks within 48 hours.
We only know this because Mayor Philip Glanville told the Citizen a whole two weeks after the fire.
The council claims to have carried out fire risk assessments (FRAs) of every block in the last financial year.
Why then is the council stonewalling requests from the Citizen for these to be released?
The council has promised to post FRAs online after its borough-wide review, but won’t say whether this will include the FRAs from 2016/17. We also don’t know when the independent review of cladding will start or conclude.
Meanwhile, the council took five days to say how many tower blocks have sprinklers installed. The answer – two, both on the same estate – suggests a major change of policy is needed.
What residents want is not empty reassurance, but information and action.
The Mayor said in statement: “We would appeal to the Hackney Citizen to report on these actions responsibly, rather than seeking to sensationalise them.”
We think residents care more about their safety than they worry about a newspaper asking tough questions.
re – We think residents care more about their safety than they worry about a newspaper asking tough questions.
They also worry more about councils not answering “tough questions,” which is something they are good at doing when it is a small group, or individual, voicing their concerns. In my case (as an individual protesting about corruption) they not only wouldn’t answer any serious allegations but then ran a smear campaign on me.
At least with a well read vehicle like the Hackney Citizen, we all have a chance to see what kind of people we have running our borough and an insight into their scurrilous ways.
As to “…seeking to sensationalise them.” What does our force fed council propaganda rag Hackney Today do?
Or you can use a Freedom of information request and find out how great LBH is at finding ways not to respond.
On behalf of the Hackney Liberal Democrats-
It is also worth noting that we have not received a response to Dave Raval’s letter to the Mayor on behalf of concerned residents , even though he said we would at the same time the last statement was released.
We asked for clear actions, transparency and clear timescales. None of this is being delivered.
The Council is dragging its heels on fire safety and it is doing little to reassure residents.
This is Dave Raval’s letter in full.
Dear Mayor Glanville,
Following the tragic fire in the Grenfell Tower in West London, I again wish to reiterate that you and Hackney Council have the full support of the Liberal Democrats in reassuring residents and making sure we are doing everything possible to address any safety concerns in the borough.
Fire Chiefs who were dealing with the Grenfell Tower blaze have described it as unprecedented, and it is important that we express to residents that fires like this are extremely rare and safety measures are in place in similar buildings in Hackney.
It is absolutely right that we reassure residents further and that we introduce steps to check that every possible measure to ensure fire safety in high-rise blocks in Hackney is functioning correctly and we welcome your announcement that these checks will be taking place.
However, it is crucial that Hackney Council shows complete transparency in handling any reviews of fire safety to ensure residents can rightly scrutinise the action being taken to deal with any concerns.
We therefore call on you to make public the following regarding the safety checks you have announced:
• Which buildings are being checked.
• Who will be carrying out those checks.
• Exactly what checks will be completed.
• Full and accurate findings from those checks so residents can scrutinise the current state of fire safety in their buildings.
• A timetable be to all residents of the buildings checked, detailing when any remedial works required to rectify any concerns will take place and when they will be completed by.
I would also like to express my concern on reports that only two high-rise buildings have been fitted with sprinkler systems despite the 2013 coroner’s report into the Lakanal House fire advising that all high-rise blocks be retrofitted with sprinklers. You have communicated to local press that this decision was based on fire risk assessments.
I therefore request that you make these risk assessments and any information used in the decision-making process to not fit more high-rise buildings in Hackney public. It is vital considering this measure was recommended by experts that residents are able to scrutinise the decision to not fit all high-rise blocks in the borough with sprinkler systems.
My final request is that Hackney Council make public whether any buildings in Hackney have had cladding fitted using the same material that seems to have obviously contributed to the rapid spread of the Grenfell Tower fire. It is crucial we identify whether any building has this type of cladding and steps are taken to ensure residents are safe.
Again I would like to express my full support and that of the Hackney Liberal Democrats on working to ensure all residents are safe and reassured.
Yours Sincerely,
Dave Raval
Hackney Liberal Democrats
This is why the London Borough of Hackney needs to retake control of both its Education (currently Learning Trust) and Housing (currently Hackney Homes) so that there are clear lines of accountability, not umpteenth layers in which to “lose” any genuine question such as an FOI request.
Glanville would rather protect his officers from any form of scrutiny or punishment for their lacklustre (sometimes criminal) performance, even when they ignore fire officers that voice their concerns, that fire fighting operations could be put in jeopardy. He even doesn’t mind them running smear campaigns against members of the public and destroying their homes in order to get rid of them. Hackney council needs investigating by the police!