Mounting on on sprinklers
“As the ministers respectively for education, housing and the Home Office, I call on you to look at this issue as a priority and ensure that our schools and public spaces are made safe, through the introduction of mandatory sprinkler systems.”
The Northumberland Labour Group has also launched a petition calling for all schools to be fitted with sprinklers after it emerged there are around 700 school fires a year in England.
Currently, sprinklers are mandatory in new school buildings in Scotland and Wales, but not in England and Northern Ireland
And fire safety in public buildings like schools has come under close scrutiny since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June.
Mr Lavery’s call follows ChronicleLive’s What Price Life? campaign which has called for safeguarding reviews to be carried out on all vulnerable buildings and for sprinklers to be fitted in high-rise blocks.
A Department for Education spokesman said: “The safety of children and young people is our top priority.
“That’s why all schools must have a fire risk assessment and new schools undergo an additional safety check while being designed.
“It has always been the case that where the risk assessment recommends sprinklers in a school building, they must be installed.
“All school building work must comply with building regulations and all schools follow strict fire safety regulations to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of fire.
“Alongside the rest of Government, we will take forward any findings from the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire.”
To sign the Labour group’s petition, visit https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/203838.