MP demands: No more “slippery shoulders” when it comes to building security

Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman made her appeal during a debate in the House of Commons on building safety and resilience, while another MP representing the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in Kensington and Bayswater warned of a “carousel of responsibility-shifting” on the housing issue.

The MP from Chelmsford, Essex, said: “I just wanted to admit a little secret pleasure: I quite enjoy watching the programme Air Crash Investigation.

“Well, it may sound a bit macabre, but I like how the aviation industry – well, the aviation industry is not perfect and I don’t want to give the impression that the aviation industry is perfect, so, anyone from the aviation industry, I give you a little bit of praise, but I don’t think the aviation industry is perfect, but – how they investigate problems that have arisen, how they investigate crashes and how they figure out what went wrong and then not point the finger.

“No matter what the mistake was, they look at how they could have avoided it and how they can ensure that it doesn’t happen again in the future.

“If only we could get the construction industry to do the same thing and change that culture instead of trying to shrug their shoulders and say, ‘Well, it’s not my fault,’ ‘Well, it was that subcontractor,’ ‘That was that subcontractor over there,’ ‘Well, it was the manufacturer,’ whatever.”

“Having worked in the construction industry for a long time, I know that this happens frequently.”

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates accidents and serious incidents involving civil aircraft in the United Kingdom and publishes reports containing safety recommendations where necessary.

Ms Goldman also called on ministers to involve the fire service as statutory advisers to local authorities when deciding on planning applications for high-rise buildings over 18 metres in height.

Councils must seek the views of statutory advisers on planning applications relevant to them. These may be drawn from a list of representatives from Historic England, Natural England and some local authority bodies.

According to guidance from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, “local planning authorities must consider whether there are planning policy reasons for engaging other consultants who, although not legally appointed, are likely to have an interest in a proposed development.”

Joe Powell, Labour MP for Kensington and Bayswater in London, said a safety inspection had found flammable plaster on a building in his constituency.

“It is a building which is home to approximately 50% social tenants and 50% shared ownership tenants who have scraped together the money they need to get into the housing market and who are now facing a £400-a-month increase in their service charges, largely due to the dramatic increase in insurance premiums following the fire inspection,” he told the House of Commons.

“It’s simply not financially viable for the tenants in the short term while we wait for the renovation work. That’s why I think we absolutely have to look at the insurance industry.

“This building is also another example of this carousel of responsibility-shifting that we talked about last week between local government, national government, developers, owners and housing associations. So we need clear timelines to speed things up.”

Sir Keir Starmer addressed MPs last Wednesday following the publication of a landmark report into the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.

The Prime Minister said: “I would like to start by expressing my apologies on behalf of the British state to each and every one of you and to all the families affected by this tragedy.”

In addition, Mr Powell called for “incentives in the system – carrot and stick – to ensure that we do not end up in an endless situation where leaseholders and tenants are not in the dark about when the work will be completed”.