The Government’s Response – and its approach to the matter
The Government Response to the Consultation was published in the spring of 2022. It highlighted a number of difficulties associated with mandating PEEPs under the headings "practicality, proportionality and safety":
"We have given careful consideration to the general equality duty, but the concerns around practicality, proportionality, and the safety case have led us to conclude that mandating PEEPs as described in the consultation at this time could in fact have a detrimental effect on those with certain protected characteristics: in particular, disabled individuals, the elderly, and those who are less mobile due to pregnancy or maternity."
Seeking an alternative – The EEIS+
On the same day as it published its Response, the Government also launched another consultation, Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing + (EEIS), which stated that the Government was "… unable to mandate PEEPs in high-rise residential buildings …" and emphasised that the purpose of the EEIS+ Consultation was to obtain views on alternative proposals for residents who would need support to evacuate in an emergency, such as sharing the location of disabled residents with fire services.
The EEIS+ Consultation document states that the EEIS proposal does not rule out the possibility of PEEPs (or similar) being put in place where the Responsible Person and resident agree that this is practical, proportionate and safe:
"Whilst we are not mandating PEEPs (as described in the PEEPs consultation) at this stage, we want to be absolutely sure that we consider all viable options to support the fire safety of mobility impaired residents. That is why, as part of this consultation, we are also asking for evidence of any existing PEEPs that support the full evacuation of mobility-impaired residents, and that satisfy the principles of practicality, proportionality and safety as laid out in the Government’s response to the PEEPs consultation. We are also asking for evidence of any further fire safety interventions that could be considered in addition to the proposals outlined."
The EEIS+ Consultation document indicated that engagement with a range of relevant stakeholders would follow. The document also stated that the Government’s response to the EEIS+ Consultation would be published and would set out its final policy position, the intention being that proposals would be implemented in secondary legislation “in late 2022/ early 2023”. Almost a year after the EEIS+ Consultation closed, we are still awaiting further details.
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