Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that all disabled people in social housing have personal emergency evacuation plans.
We are committed to improving systems that enable fire safety and evacuation of disabled and vulnerable residents in all high-rise and higher-risk residential buildings. On 4 July, the government laid The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 in Parliament, which will come into force on 6 April 2026.
Under the new regulations, residents with disabilities or impairments will be entitled to personal assessments designed to identify necessary equipment and adjustments that aid their fire safety and evacuation. Fire and Rescue Services will also receive information on vulnerable residents, where the individual resident agrees to the information being shared, in case they need to support their evacuation.
The government has committed funding this year to support social housing providers to deliver Residential PEEPs for their renters. Future years’ funding will be confirmed in due course.