Prevention of Future Deaths reports · 2017
Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths, reference 2017-0250, written 21 Aug 2017. A coroner writes one of these when an inquest reveals a risk that could cause further deaths unless something changes.
| Date of report | 21 Aug 2017 |
|---|---|
| Reference | 2017-0250 |
| Deceased | Jac Davies |
| Coroner | Aled Gruffydd |
| Coroner area | Swansea and Neath Port Talbot |
| Category | Other related deaths |
| Source | judiciary.uk record · original PDF |
| Responses published | 1 |
Text recovered by OCR from a scanned PDF. OCR is imperfect: check anything you rely on against the source PDF. Reproduced verbatim, including the scan's own layout.
REGULATION 28: REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS (1) NOTE: This form is to be used after an inquest. REGULATION 28 REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS SENT TO: Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children Welsh Assembly Government 5th Floor Ty Hywel Cardiff Bay CF99 1NA 1 | CORONER lam Aled Gruffydd, Assistant Coroner, for the coroner area of SWANSEA NEATH & PORT TALBOT 2 | CORONER’S LEGAL POWERS | make this report under paragraph 7, Schedule 5, of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and regulations 28 and 29 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013. 3 | INVESTIGATION and INQUEST On 3" August 2016 | commenced an investigation into the death of Jac Evan Davies (aged 4). The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on 21 August 2017. The medical cause of death is 1a Smoke inhalation The conclusion of the inquest as how Jac Davies came to his death is a narrative one and is as follows:- The deceased died from smoke inhalation caused by a house fire when a lamp bulb came into close contact with discarded clothes. 4 | CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH The deceased was Jac Evan Davies and he ul 16 following a house fire at his home address of which he shared with his mother and three siblings (aged 6,3, and 11 months). The cause of the fire was attributed to a lamp that had come into contact with disarded clothing on the floor. The property was fitted with smoke alarms, a hard wired system on the ground and first floor landing, both of which were working or activated, 2 single point detectors on the ground floor, both of which were operational on testing post fire, and a single point detector on the first floor landing which was destroyed by fire. The evidence of the deceased's mother and sister were that they were alerted to the fire by the cries of the deceased not by any smoke alarm, and the two fire fighters did not recall a fire alarm operating. One crew member does recall hearing a fire alarm operating but could not confirm if it was in this premises. CORONER’S CONCERNS During the course of the inquest it became apparent there was no duty in Wales for landlords to install smoke alarms in properties let out to Tenants. In England this duty is set out in the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015. These regulations require a landlord to have at least one smoke alarm installed on every storey of their properties and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance (eg a coal fire, wood burning stove). The landlord must make sure the alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy. In Wales the fitting of smoke alarms is covered by the Code of Practice for Landlords and Agents licensed under Part 1 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2016. In that code of practice there is a requirement for landlords to fit carbon monoxide alarms in every room where there is a solid fuel appliance. Failure to do so can result in a landlord registered with the Rent Smart Wales scheme losing their licence. The fitting of smoke alarms is covered under “best practice” and recommends what landlords can do to raise standards above the minimum level required by law. There is no sanction for not complying with best practice. The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows. — 4. Landlords in Wales are under no legal duty to fit smoke alarms to properties they let out, and are under no legal duty to ensure they are working when a tenancy is initially entered into. 2. There is no reciprocal legislation in Wales to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 that enforces the above obligations on landlords ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and | believe you AND/OR your organisation have the power to take such action. YOUR RESPONSE You are under a duty to respond to this report within 56 days of the date of this report, namely by 16 October 2017. I, the coroner, may extend the period. Your response must contain details of action taken or proposed to be taken, setting out the timetable for action. Otherwise you must explain why no action is proposed. COPIES and PUBLICATION | have sent a copy of my report to the Chief Coroner and to the following Interested Persons the family, and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. lam also under a duty to send the Chief Coroner a copy of your response. The Chief Coroner may publish either or both in a complete or redacted or summary form. He may send a copy of this report to any person who he believes may find it useful or of interest. You may make representations to me, the coroner, at the time of your response, about the release or the publication of your response by the Chief Coroner. .... [SIGNED BY CORONER]
1 response published against this report on judiciary.uk. A response is a body's written reply to the coroner's concerns; publication is at the discretion of the Chief Coroner's office, so an absent response does not mean nobody replied.
Carl Sargeant AC/AM %, Aes Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Gymunedau a Phlant - Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children AN Llywodraeth Cymru Cymru Ein cyf/Our ref CS/01486/17 Welsh Government Colin Phillips Senior Coroner for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot coroner@swansea.gov.uk Phoctaber 2017 Dear Mr Phillips | write further to receipt of your Regulation 28 Report following the inquest into the sad death of Jac Evan Davies, brought to my attention by the Assistant Coroner. As stated in your report, the requirements relating to the fitting of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in England are set out in the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015. These regulations were made under powers in section 150 of the Energy Act 2013 which extend only to England. In 2016, the National Assembly for Wales passed the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (‘the 2016 Act’). This legislation represents a fundamental reform of the law relating to residential tenancies and licences in Wales, and is based on Law Commission recommendations. The 2016 Act provides that individuals who rent their home under a tenancy or licence will do so under an ‘occupation contract’ (subject to a small number of exceptions). The 2016 Act extends to registered social landlords and local authorities, as well as private landlords. Part 4 of the 2016 Act addresses the condition of dwellings rented under an occupation contract, and section 91 places a duty on landlords of occupation contracts to ensure the dwelling is fit for human habitation. This duty applies both at the outset of, and for the duration of, the occupation contract. The fitness duty is additional to the current repairing obligations placed on landlords, which will continue to apply under the 2016 Act. Section 94 of the Act requires the Welsh Ministers to prescribe, in regulations, the matters and circumstances to which regard must be had when determining whether a dwelling is fit for human habitation. As part of the work being undertaken to implement the 2016 Act, the Welsh Government is currently consulting on these draft regulations. Canolfan Cyswllt Cyntaf / First Point of Contact Centre: Bae Caerdydd « Cardiff Bay 0300 0604400 Caerdydd + Cardiff Gohebiaeth.Carl.Sargeant@llyw.cymru CF99 1NA Correspondence. Carl. Sargeant@gov.wales Rydym yn croesawu derbyn gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg. Byddwn yn ateb gohebiaeth a dderbynnir yn Gymraeg yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn arwain at oedi. We welcome receiving correspondence in Welsh. Any correspondence received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and corresponding in Welsh will not lead to a delay in responding. The draft regulations adopt, as matters and circumstances to which regard must be had when determining whether a dwelling is fit for human habitation, the 29 matters and circumstances, including that of fire, prescribed under Section 2 of the Housing Act 2004 and used by local authorities in assessing whether a hazard is present under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. In addition, the draft regulations place specific requirements on landlords to mitigate the risk of particular matters and circumstances occurring. These requirements include the presence of working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, as well as the carrying out of a safety test of the electrical installation in the dwelling at least every five years. Whereas in England the requirement relating to carbon monoxide alarms applies only in respect of solid fuel appliances, the requirement in draft regulations for Wales applies in respect of solid fuel, gas or oil-fired appliances. The consultation on the draft regulations and accompanying guidance is available at: https://consultations.gov.wales/consultations/renting-homes-wales-act-2016-fitness-human- habitation. The draft regulations therefore, place a legal duty on both social and private landlords to fit smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and if a landlord fails to do so, their dwelling is to be treated as if it were unfit for human habitation. We also believe the requirement for five year electrical safety testing will further help to reduce the incidence of house fires. In addition to contract holders being able to take court action against landlords for breach of contract, a failure to comply with the regulations could also result in a landlord losing his or her licence to rent under Rent Smart Wales. As indicated above, the draft regulations are currently subject to public consultation, following which, the draft regulations will be further considered in light of responses. The 2016 Act represents a fundamental change to housing law in Wales. Implementation of the Act requires a substantial amount of secondary legislation to be made and this work is ongoing. We are currently aiming to complete this work enabling the Act to be fully implemented in the autumn of 2018. Once fully implemented the 2016 Act will apply to both new occupation contracts and existing tenancies and licences which will convert to occupation contracts. We believe this will provide for much safer conditions for those who rent their homes in Wales. Yours sincerely, fas Carl Sargeant AC/AM Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Gymunedau a Phlant Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children
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