Can the home ever be safe?

Fife Council Housing and Neighbourhood Services

In November 2010 RoSPA presented Councillor Brian Goodall, chairman of Fife Council’s housing and communities committee, and Bob Arnott, chairman of Fife Community Safety Partnership’s safer homes task group, with a certificate in recognition of the fact that its new-build properties will be built to RoSPA’s home safety guidelines.

Fife Council’s housing service have agreed to incorporate all the recommendations from the policy document "Can the home ever be safe?", including fire alarms, domestic sprinklers, window restrictors and handrails, at the design stage - putting safety at the forefront of the first homes built by the council in 30 years. It was encouraged to do so by the safer homes task group.

Working with local housing association Kingdom Housing, Fife Council is currently undertaking the first phase of 119 new-build homes.

Providing these safety measures at the build stage of new homes is cost effective and shows commitment to reducing accidents in the home, particularly where young children and the elderly are concerned. The incorporation of these home safety features will really help to prevent accidents in the home.

North Lanarkshire Council

North Lanarkshire Council is demonstrating its continued commitment to home safety by delivering their “build for the future” programme that will see 500 new affordable homes being built across the area. Home safety is a key consideration as early as the planning and design stage and by liaising with contractors they are ensuring that it is an integral element of their new build homes.

A proposal from the Home Safety Working Group, part of the Community Safety Partnership, resulted in the council referring to RoSPA’s "Can the home ever be safe?" recommendations as a guidance document for their new build properties. North Lanarkshire Council is one of the first councils to take on board aspects of this policy document to help improve safety in their properties.

Simple low-cost features can make a huge difference to basic home safety. Some examples of the measures that will be getting incorporated into their properties include stair gate fixing points, hard-wired carbon monoxide monitors, lockable downstairs windows and restrictors on upstairs windows.

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