The Housing and Fire Safety Advisory Panel were scheduled to meet on Wednesday 23 April 2025 to discuss the London Fire Brigade annual report, the government's response to the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report, performance on compliance, and the panel's work programme and action tracker. The panel was also scheduled to review the minutes from the previous meeting.

Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 Report - Government Response

The Housing and Fire Safety Advisory Panel were scheduled to review the government's response to the recommendations from the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report.

The report to be discussed included a summary of the main recommendations and actions, noting that the government accepted 49 recommendations in full and a further 9 in principle.

The report also noted that responsibility for all fire-related functions would move from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).

The report outlined a plan for three phases of activity for reforming the regulation of residential fire and building safety:

• Phase 1 (2025 to 2026): delivery of existing reforms.
• Phase 2 (2026 to 2028): further development and legislation
• Phase 3 (2028 onwards): implementation of phase regulation

The report also noted that the government is putting in place measures to integrate the requirements of linked legislation:

• Phased regulations to implement Awaab’s Law from October 2025
• A new Decent Homes standard and new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES)
• A new Competence and Conduct regulatory standard for the competence and conduct of social housing staff
• The Freedom of Information Act will be extended to cover Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs) and there will be a review of the arrangements for the oversight of delegated management organisations, including TMOs

The report also provided updates on the Grenfell workstreams: Building control, Design, technical requirements and contract management, Landlord services and TMOs, Fire risk assessment, Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs), and Major incident plans.

With regards to Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs), secondary legislation was expected for publication by October 2025, applying to all high-rise buildings (18+ metres in height) and medium rise buildings (11-18 metres in height) with simultaneous evacuation strategies in place. As such, Neighbourhood officers were scheduled to commence a three-year rolling programme in 2025/26, visiting all 22,000 rented council homes to update existing information.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) Annual Report

The Housing and Fire Safety Advisory Panel were scheduled to receive the London Fire Brigade (LFB) Annual Report, including the Borough Risk Management Plan Camden 2025.

The Borough Risk Management Plan identifies key risks affecting the borough and details the six services provided to address them:

• Prevention
• Protection
• Response
• Preparedness
• Recovery
• Engagement

The report also included details of activities the LFB is undertaking in the Borough.

The report noted that Euston Fire Station, Kentish Town Fire Station and West Hampstead Fire Station are based within Camden.

The report also noted some special risks in the borough:

Camden has a large amount of residential high rise accommodation including 34 where the fire risk assessment deems that the building safety features are not adequate and that a temporary simultaneous evacuation strategy is in place.

Hampstead Heath is an area of public grassland which covers an area of 320 hectares in the north of the borough. The likelihood of a significant fire during a dry summer may increase with climate change.

The Francis Crick Institute is the largest biomedical research facility in Europe, employing 1500 staff working over 12 floors. The building presents a unique risk profile due to the nature of the research carried out within.

Performance on Compliance Q3 2024/25

The Housing and Fire Safety Advisory Panel were scheduled to receive an update on compliance across fire, legionella, asbestos, gas, electrics and lifts (FLAGEL) for the housing portfolio for Q3 2024/25.

The report included:

• progress made to complete fire safety actions
• delivery against the Voluntary Undertaking agreed with the Regulator in November 2023
• Q3 performance on safety related Tenant Satisfaction Measures for 23/24
• an update on Building Safety Case File submissions

The Q3 2024/25 figures for the five safety Tenant Satisfaction Measures were scheduled to be discussed:

• BS01: Gas Safety Checks
• BS02: Fire Safety Checks
• BS03: Asbestos Safety Checks
• BS04: Water Safety Checks
• BS05: Lift Safety Checks
• NEW: Electrical Safety Checks

The report noted that the Voluntary Undertaking with the Social Housing Regulator requires the Council to deliver an Action Plan and complete all outstanding Fire Risk Assessment actions by the end of 2025.

The report also noted that Camden had anticipated that up to 37 of its 188 blocks would be ‘called in’ by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) in 2024/25, but that only 13 had so far been requested.

Work Programme and Action Tracker

The Housing and Fire Safety Advisory Panel were scheduled to review the work programme for 2025/26 and the action tracker from the January 2025 meeting.

The panel was also scheduled to consider a recommendation to the Leader of the Council to update the name of the Panel to Housing Fire and Building Safety Panel.

The panel was also scheduled to consider co-opting a nominee from the Camden Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) Liaison Committee to serve on the Panel.