Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will urgently commission a national review of stay put advice in fire safety policy.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) published comprehensive guidance for buildings, such as those with ACM cladding, on what arrangements and interim measures should be established where “stay put” has been suspended. The NFCC carefully reviewed its guidance and reaffirmed the principle of “stay put” where it is appropriate. Its statement on this can be viewed at http://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/Stay-Put-position.

The Home Office has no plans to commission a national review of stay put advice. However, the government recognises that questions have been raised about means of escape from blocks of flats and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has commenced a technical review of Building Regulation guidance through a call for evidence on 18 December 2018. This call for evidence identified topics which were candidates for inclusion in the review of Approved Document B (Fire Safety). One of the topics was means of escape in blocks of flats, including the stay-put approach. The call for evidence closed on 15 March 2019 and the Department is in the process of reviewing the evidence provided.