PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
COMPULSORY SMOKE ALARMS (14 December 2004)

That this House is concerned that so many homes in the UK have not been fitted with smoke alarms; notes that, during 2002, only 27 per cent. of the 65,000 dwelling house fires attended by fire brigades throughout Britain had a working smoke alarm and that a substantial proportion of the 430 people who died and the 13,500 who were injured in those dwelling house fires could have been saved if a smoke alarm had given earlier warning; urges the Government to legislate to require smoke alarms to be fitted and efficiently maintained in all domestic properties, calls on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to ensure that smoke alarms are fitted in all council house large scale voluntary transfers to housing associations and arms length management organisations as a condition of transfer and to require their fitting in all social and council housing; further urges insurance companies to require smoke alarms; commends the campaign to highlight this issue, backed by Frank Bruno, and launched in Grimsby by Frank Lewis, two of whose family died in a fire in his house on Boxing Day 2002 and who could have been saved by a smoke alarm; and considers that his efforts to secure the universal fitting of smoke alarms will avert similar tragedies in the future.

Sponsored by:
Austin Mitchell (Labour)