Published Date: Jun 26th, 2025
Fife Council has stressed its focus on tenant safety by agreeing a comprehensive response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Part 2 report.
The council has already taken steps since the Grenfell tragedy in 2017, including fire safety upgrades and cladding reviews across twelve tower blocks.
At today’s Cabinet Committee meeting (Thursday), councillors endorsed a series of actions to further enhance fire safety across the council’s housing stock, particularly in high-rise and sheltered housing.
The Grenfell Inquiry report Part 1 focussed on the fire outbreak and how it spread so rapidly up the building causing the devastating consequences. Action taken by Fife Council and the Scottish Fife and Rescue Service soon afterwards provided reassurance to the council and our tenants that this series of events could not happen in any of our tower blocks.
The Grenfell Inquiry Part 2 report, published in September 2024, focused on the causes of the events leading up to the fire, including how Grenfell Tower came to be in a condition which allowed the fire to spread in the way it did. The Part 2 report made 58 recommendations aimed at preventing future tragedies.
The Scottish Government responded with a commitment to strengthen building standards, improve fire safety guidance, and introduce mandatory fire risk assessments and personal evacuation plans.
Building on this, the Cabinet Committee has now agreed a four-stage process to assess fire safety risks and develop a longer-term improvement programme. This will include an analysis of the fire safety gaps, a compliance roadmap with a costed programme of proposed improvement works, a remediation programme and then the delivery of the physical works.
Housing spokesperson Councillor Judy Hamilton said: "We acted swiftly after Grenfell and we’re now going further. The current improvement work at Swan and Memorial Courts in Methil are an example of how we’re committed to fully mitigate potential fire risks and make long-term improvements for our tenants.
“I visited the tower blocks recently to see the £7 million large-scale works first-hand. The project is replacing external wall insulation, installing fire stopping in each flat, replacing older kitchens and bathrooms, upgrading the heating system and installing a new fire evacuation alarm system.
“We’ll continue to work closely with tenants, the Scottish Government and fire safety experts throughout the process to deliver lasting improvements, ensuring that such a tragedy never happens again.”
Further reports will be brought back to Cabinet Committee detailing a costed work programme and to address further recommendations in the Part 2 Inquiry report.
