Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Answer of 17 May 2021 to Question 35, what his Department’s definition of a short period of time is in respect of how long a Responsible Person should operate a Waking Watch; and if he will make a statement.

Where a building moves from a Stay Put to Simultaneous Evacuation fire safety strategy, those responsible for the fire safety of the building should follow the expert guidance on Simultaneous Evacuation published by the National Fire Chief’s Council. The guidance recommends that a Waking Watch should only be in place for a short period of time and that the Responsible Person should move quickly to install a common fire alarm system as they are a more cost effective and reliable option. The guidance defines ‘short term’ as the following:

“Short-Term 2.14. The amount of time needed for Responsible Persons to formulate a longer-term plan for other interim measures (such as the installation of a temporary common fire alarm system or remediating the risk of the external wall system). The length of the ‘short term’ will be dependent upon factors such as the design of the building, the different types of tenures, particularly leaseholders and the needs of residents. The short-term should be as soon as practically possible and no longer than 12 months.”

For more information, please refer to guidance available at: www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/Simultaneous-evacuation-guidance.