Our ref: FOI 23 33

 

Dear Elspeth,

 

Thank you for your request for information in relation to high rise
buildings and the Regulatory Reform Order.

 

We received your request on 11^th  March 2023 and we are dealing with it
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We will supply you
with our findings as soon as possible, on or before 11^th April 2023.

 

If you have any queries regarding this request, please contact me
directly, quoting the reference number above.

 

Kind regards

 

Deborah Lowe

Information Governance Officer

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service

Five Rivers Health & Wellbeing Centre

Hulse Road | Salisbury | SP1 3NR

01722 691315

dwfire.org.uk

@DWFireRescue

 

 

 

Internet e-mail is not to be regarded as a secure means of communication.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service monitors all Internet e-mail
activity and content. This communication and any files transmitted with it
is intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and may be
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disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited. Please notify the
sender if received in error then delete it from your system. Opinions
expressed in this communication may not be official policy. Whilst every
effort is made to carefully choose websites that we may provide links to,
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service cannot guarantee the standards
of these sites. Virus Disclaimer: Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue
Service takes all reasonable steps to ensure electronic communications are
protected from virus infection but cannot accept any liability for any
loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses. Intended
recipients are responsible for carrying out virus checking as is necessary
before opening any attachments.

Ref: FOI 23 33

 

Dear Elspeth

 

Further to your Freedom of Information request of 11 March 2023, please
find below our response to the information that you requested.

 

Query and response:

 

 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

 

Some of the information that you have requested is publicly available.
Under the terms of the Act, a request for information can be refused where
one or more exemptions listed in the Act apply. In this case we are
claiming the following exemptions to the information that you have
requested:

 

“Information accessible by other means” in Section 21 of the Act. The
information requested can be found [1]here.

 

We are in the process of collating similar information for our 2022/23
return to the Home Office, which is due for future publication. Work is
also ongoing to update existing data sets regarding height of premises and
also the definitions of “high” and “medium” rise height thresholds to take
account of recent legislative changes.

 

The information relating to 2022/23 is withheld under section 22 of the
Freedom of Information Act. Section 22 provides that information is exempt
if:

 

 a. the information is held by the public authority with a view to its
publication, by the authority or some other person, at some future
date (whether determined or not),
 b. the information was already held with a view to such publication at
the time when the request for information was made, and
 c. it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should
be withheld from disclosure until the date referred to in paragraph
(a)

 

Section 22 is a qualified exemption and therefore it requires that a
public interest test be carried out to determine whether the exemption
should be maintained.

 

The public interest in accountability and transparency by providing this
information now has been weighed against the public interest in
withholding it at this time. This information will be available [2]here
shortly.

 

Providing you with this information prior to the publication date would
require duplication, which would be an inefficient use of public authority
time when the information will be available imminently.

 

We have reached the view that, on balance, the public interest is better
served by withholding this information under Section 22 of the Act at this
time.

 

 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 July 2021 to the date of this FOI

 

A total of 134 Fire Safety Matters letters were issued to the Responsible
Person in respect of Article 14 and Article 15 deficiencies in residential
buildings during the timeframe specified. These included 63 Fire Safety
Matters letters that were issued in respect of buildings greater than 6
storeys or over 18m in height.

 

 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 July 2021 to the date of this
FOI

 

None recorded

 

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

 

Not applicable

 

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

 

At every incident, the Incident Commander will assess the suitability of
the evacuation strategy of an individual building against the current
operational conditions. Where a stay put strategy is required to be
overturned, our operational procedures would consider all persons within
the building and would include those requiring assistance from the
building as part of an evacuation plan. The evacuation strategy of a
building should be determined by the Responsible Person and informed by a
Fire Risk Assessment, which would account for the physical built
environment of the building. We recognise the ongoing work to assist with
the identification of vulnerable residents in multi occupied residential
buildings as identified by the Government consultation on Emergency
Evacuation Information Sharing and the requirements for Secure Information
Boxes under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. Where such
information is made available to the Fire and Rescue Service in support of
identifying vulnerable persons in need of assistance we would use it
accordingly.

 

I trust this answers your queries, however if you are unhappy with the
service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a
complaint or request a review of the decision, you should write to the
Information Governance Team, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service,
Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre, Hulse Road, Salisbury,
Wiltshire SP1 3NR within 40 working days of receipt of the original
decision. Alternatively you can
email [3][email address].

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint or review, you
may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a
decision. Generally the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have
exhausted the complaints procedure at the Fire Authority. The ICO can be
contacted at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

0303 123 1113

 

[4]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

Hannah Buxton

Senior Information Governance Officer

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Five Rivers Health & Wellbeing Centre

Hulse Road | Salisbury | SP1 3NR

Tel: 01722 691084

Internet e-mail is not to be regarded as a secure means of communication.
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service monitors all Internet e-mail
activity and content. This communication and any files transmitted with it
is intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and may be
confidential, legally privileged and protected in law. Unauthorised use,
disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited. Please notify the
sender if received in error then delete it from your system. Opinions
expressed in this communication may not be official policy. Whilst every
effort is made to carefully choose websites that we may provide links to,
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service cannot guarantee the standards
of these sites. Virus Disclaimer: Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue
Service takes all reasonable steps to ensure electronic communications are
protected from virus infection but cannot accept any liability for any
loss or damage sustained as a result of software viruses. Intended
recipients are responsible for carrying out virus checking as is necessary
before opening any attachments.

References

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