Agenda item

8.1

It was moved by Councillor John Booker, and formally seconded by Councillor Jack Clarkson, that this Council:-

(a)       contends that councillors exist to serve their communities, and believes that one of the best ways to do this is by offering them a say in what happens on their doorstep, and that Localism puts real power in the hands of the people;

(b)       further contends (i) that the Grenfell Tower disaster sadly showed the total lack of local government run housing and relevant safety checks, (ii) notes that the TUC and its affiliated Trades Unions have a large amount of Accredited Union Health and Safety Representatives (USRs), whose primary role is accident prevention and risk assessment, in the three categories – generic, local and on-site, (iii) further notes that building safety inspections is part of what these individuals sign up for when they do their training, (iv) believes that local councils who look to outsource this work are perpetrating a great injustice on the local communities they represent and (v) further believes that the resources they need are right under their feet, and that the USRs could be transferred from their normal work on a rota basis to facilitate building safety inspections;

(c)        believes it is all about sharing responsibility for public safety, noting that council rent payers pay rent to the council, the council pays wages to its employees, and some employees live in council housing; and

(d)       (i) contends that most social housing is a direct extension of many local government employees’ workplace; for many, this is at the end of a keyboard (e.g. customer accounts), for others its hands on, such as plumbing, wiring, painting and property repairs, but that, directly or indirectly, as local government employees, social housing is inevitably part of their workplace and (ii) as such, believes that safety checks should be carried out by USRs from construction stage to periodical safety checks; the purpose, to preserve life and prevent accidents.

8.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Mike Chaplin, seconded by Councillor Jim Steinke, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)       believes that the Grenfell Tower disaster tragically demonstrated what can happen when tenants are not listened to properly and the relevant safety checks are not carried out;

(b)       notes that Sheffield City Council acted swiftly and responsibly in the wake of the disaster – ensuring that tenants were well communicated with, reassured and that safety checks were carried out on all 24 local authority tower blocks to an even higher standard than the later government-required standards;

(c)        believes that it is of paramount importance that the Council do all that is necessary to ensure that our tenants can live in comfort, safety and in complete peace of mind, and notes that this Administration has adopted a policy of “zero tolerance to anyone operating in the city who does not share this approach”;

(d)       notes that, prior to the Grenfell disaster, health and safety checks on our tower blocks were undertaken every 6 weeks by staff working in our estates teams;

(e)       further notes that, after Grenfell, this Administration acted swiftly and proactively to carry out further tests on council-owned tower blocks, and this was in advance of the Government mandating this;

(f)        notes that a single element of cladding in Hanover failed the new test, though it met the pre-Grenfell government standards, and that as soon as this was identified, immediate action was taken to remove this cladding, and that significant work was undertaken to ensure that tenants and the tenants’ and residents’ association (TARA) were communicated with and reassured throughout this process, and that the new cladding will be installed at Hanover very shortly;

(g)       further notes that, post-Grenfell, the Administration has moved housing repairs and activity “in-house” into the Council’s Repairs Policy team, where trained staff have extensive experience of building maintenance;

(h)       further notes that these inspections are supplemented by an annual Fire Risk Assessment undertaken by trained Fire Risk Assessors who work in the Council’s Facilities Management Team;

(i)         notes that, in addition to these routine checks, sample inspections by an independent Fire Expert are carried out and that, following recent investigations, the Council identified some actions for repairs and housing, for example improving signage and removing waste materials, and that it is expected that these matters will be completed over the next few months;

(j)         contends that Sheffield City Council officers also respond to short notice audits by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (SYFRS) for council-owned tower blocks and that any concerns will be worked on together;

(k)        believes that there is no reason to doubt the robustness or validity of these health and safety checks and that, whilst the TUC and its affiliated Trades Unions have a large amount of Accredited Union Health and Safety Representatives (USRs), it is well understood that they are not qualified to do the relevant fire safety checks on these buildings, however, the Council should ensure that Trade Unions are regularly updated; and

(l)         further contends that ensuring the continued safety of tenants is of paramount importance to this Administration and notes that the Chief Executive has set up a Fire Safety Board to respond to the Hackitt review and an action plan is being developed to ensure residents living in high rise accommodation (regardless of tenure) in Sheffield are safe.

8.3

It was then moved by Councillor Mike Levery, and formally seconded by Councillor Martin Smith, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)       recognises the role of the Union Safety Representative as described under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, namely that “USRs are there to represent the interests and concerns of their co-workers in the workplace, and respond on their behalf”;

(b)       notes that any inspection of a building by a USR is in the context of ensuring that co-workers are in a safe environment to enable them to carry out their duties;

(c)        recognises that safety inspections of buildings at any stage, from construction through operation to demolition, is the responsibility of the building owner, through the use of Building Inspectors who have specialist expertise in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, well beyond the scope of workplace inspections;

(d)       commends the work of all safety representatives, who hold management to account, ensuring that everyone has a right to excellent health and safety in the workplace;

(e)       recognises the work undertaken by council officers and the fire brigade to ensure the safety of those living in, and working in, high rise properties;

(f)        notes the fatal fire at Ganrock Court, Irvine, in 1999 where the fire spread through external cladding in a 14 storey residential tower block in just 10 minutes, and, following a parliamentary enquiry, recommendations were made for cladding to meet new requirements in the Building Regulations, and that this included the fire testing of cladding and insulation as a whole system to be carried out on any high rise building;

(g)       notes that, even after 12 months, the Government have still not produced a final report on the terrible tragedy at Grenfell Tower where 76 people died and the cladding on the property has still not been banned; and

(h)       calls on the Government to strengthen the Building Regulations on insulation and cladding, including strictly specifying the requirements of fire testing, in order that the likelihood of fire spreading externally on high rise buildings is eradicated.

8.4

The amendment moved by Councillor Mike Chaplin was put to the vote and was carried.

8.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Mike Levery was put to the vote and was negatived.

8.5.1

(NOTE: Councillors Kaltum Rivers, Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy and Martin Phipps, voted for the amendment on the basis that the new paragraphs be deemed to be additional paragraphs rather than be replacement paragraphs, and asked for this to be recorded.)

8.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       believes that the Grenfell Tower disaster tragically demonstrated what can happen when tenants are not listened to properly and the relevant safety checks are not carried out;

(b)       notes that Sheffield City Council acted swiftly and responsibly in the wake of the disaster – ensuring that tenants were well communicated with, reassured and that safety checks were carried out on all 24 local authority tower blocks to an even higher standard than the later government-required standards;

(c)        believes that it is of paramount importance that the Council do all that is necessary to ensure that our tenants can live in comfort, safety and in complete peace of mind, and notes that this Administration has adopted a policy of “zero tolerance to anyone operating in the city who does not share this approach”;

(d)       notes that, prior to the Grenfell disaster, health and safety checks on our tower blocks were undertaken every 6 weeks by staff working in our estates teams;

(e)       further notes that, after Grenfell, this Administration acted swiftly and proactively to carry out further tests on council-owned tower blocks, and this was in advance of the Government mandating this;

(f)        notes that a single element of cladding in Hanover failed the new test, though it met the pre-Grenfell government standards, and that as soon as this was identified, immediate action was taken to remove this cladding, and that significant work was undertaken to ensure that tenants and the tenants’ and residents’ association (TARA) were communicated with and reassured throughout this process, and that the new cladding will be installed at Hanover very shortly;

(g)       further notes that, post-Grenfell, the Administration has moved housing repairs and activity “in-house” into the Council’s Repairs Policy team, where trained staff have extensive experience of building maintenance;

(h)       further notes that these inspections are supplemented by an annual Fire Risk Assessment undertaken by trained Fire Risk Assessors who work in the Council’s Facilities Management Team;

(i)         notes that, in addition to these routine checks, sample inspections by an independent Fire Expert are carried out and that, following recent investigations, the Council identified some actions for repairs and housing, for example improving signage and removing waste materials, and that it is expected that these matters will be completed over the next few months;

(j)         contends that Sheffield City Council officers also respond to short notice audits by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (SYFRS) for council-owned tower blocks and that any concerns will be worked on together;

(k)        believes that there is no reason to doubt the robustness or validity of these health and safety checks and that, whilst the TUC and its affiliated Trades Unions have a large amount of Accredited Union Health and Safety Representatives (USRs), it is well understood that they are not qualified to do the relevant fire safety checks on these buildings, however, the Council should ensure that Trade Unions are regularly updated; and

(l)         further contends that ensuring the continued safety of tenants is of paramount importance to this Administration and notes that the Chief Executive has set up a Fire Safety Board to respond to the Hackitt review and an action plan is being developed to ensure residents living in high rise accommodation (regardless of tenure) in Sheffield are safe.

8.6.1

(NOTE: Councillors Kaltum Rivers, Douglas Johnson, Robert Murphy and Martin Phipps, voted for paragraphs (a) and (l), and abstained from voting on paragraphs (b) to (k) of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)