Enforcement High Rise

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request.  Please find our responses below.

1. The number of low, medium and high-rise residential buildings in your area (or your current/best estimate of them) covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Low rise 757, Medium rise 161, High rise 4. This is based on Home Office returns of known premises.

2. The total number of deficiency and/or enforcement notices served to the owners of these buildings relating to means of escape (Articles 14(2)(b) & 15 (1)(b)), since the 30th October 2019 to the date of this FOI

8 total of deficiencies and enforcement notices from Home office returns.

All prohibition and Enforcement notices are posted on the NFCC website, which can be accessed by following the link below

https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNDRmY2I1OTItNDRiMi00YTg0LWE3NjUtYzAwOTA1MGU1ZDMyIiwidCI6IjI2NmQ3N2FkLTkxNTYtNGVkMy05YTE4LTIyMWI3ZTg1MGJhNSJ9

The above Enforcement Register was introduced in November 2020. CFOA is currently in the process of transferring the previous notices issued across to the new site. Please find the link below to the old register for your reference.

http://www.cfoa.org.uk/notices-register

3. The number of deficiency and/or enforcement notices served to the owners of these buildings specifically relating to the identification of vulnerable and disabled residents, and planning for their escape (Articles 14(2)(b) & 15 (1)(b)), since the  30th October 2019 to the date of this FOI

1 notification of deficiencies

3. Copies of the notices referred to in (3)

See attached. All personal data has been redacted from the letter and is withheld under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as disclosure would breach the first principle of the Data Protection Act 2018.  Section 40 is an absolute exemption and is therefore not subject to the public interest test.   

4. The fire authority's current policy covering the evacuation of disabled people from multi-occupancy buildings during a fire

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has a specific incident procedure for dealing with fires in high rise buildings and has specific operational risk information for high rise premises and highlights premises which may have an occupancy risk such as a disability. This policy contains information in relation to how we respond to incidents and therefore is being withheld under Section 38 (1) (endangerment to the health and safety of any individual) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The public interest is served by knowing that there are adequate processes in place, however SFRS believes that disclosing this information to the public at large would provide those with malicious intent to cause harm with key tactical information about how we respond to high rise incidents. As a result, this would impede our ability to respond to incidents at high rise buildings and endanger the health and safety of our firefighters and members of the public. Having considered the public interest test, SFRS’s decision is, therefore, to withhold the information.

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can complain or request an internal review of the decision. This must be done within 40 working days of receiving this response. You can do this by writing to the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, St. Michael’s Street, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 2HJ or email: enquiries@shropshirefire.gov.uk. 

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:   

Information Commissioner's Office   

Wycliffe House   

Water Lane   

Wilmslow   

Cheshire  

SK9 5AF  

Telephone: 0303 123 1113  

Website: www.ico.gov.uk