The Bill seeks to make a requirement for any private or public sector landlord to ensure there is a working mains wired smoke alarm at the start of a new tenancy. From there-on responsibility transfers to the tenant. The Bill gets its Second Reading on Friday 19 November. I should get at least 30 minutes to put the case to the House before a vote. In advance of the 19th I have started discussions with the Government Department about how they view the Bill, why it isn’t already law, what the barriers are to progressing it as a Private Member’s Bill, what the chances are of the Government agreeing to it, if there are alternative ways to achieve what the Bill aims to do.
The meeting with the Minister was the first of these steps and he has agreed for two of his civil servants to meet with me and a Fire Officer from Devon & Somerset to talk through some of the barriers. These appear to be the rules on deregulation. You cannot introduce a new regulation without taking away an existing regulation of equal cost.
There are also questions relating to the definition of rented accommodation, enforcement and some other minor matters that are not insurmountable with political will on the part of Government. Hopefully we will be able to fix the second meeting shortly and take matters from there. In the meantime MPs continue to add their signature to the motion calling for this change in the law, and Fire & Rescue Services from other parts of the country are campaigning to get their MPs to support the Bill.
If I’m not your MP, please get in touch with whoever is and ask them to support the Bill on the 19th November.
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