John Penrose

Conservative Party | Weston-super-Mare

Success for MP’s Life-Saving Campaign

13 November 2007

Local MP John Penrose is celebrating this week after it was announced by Schools Minister Jim Knight that the Government will be following the Weston-super-Mare MP’s advice and installing life-saving sprinkler systems in schools.

The announcement came after a successful campaign by Mr Penrose which included a Parliamentary Motion supported by over 100 cross-party MPs including senior politicians like Michael Howard, Ann Widdecombe and Diane Abbott.

The Minister announced on Friday that the Government now assumes that new schools, built under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, will include sprinklers in the vast majority of cases. BSF is the largest school building programme in 50 years and will involve every primary and secondary school in the country being refurbished or rebuilt.

Responding to the Minister’s announcement Mr Penrose said:

“I’m delighted the Government has signed up to life-saving sprinklers.

“It’s taken a long time but the Minister has finally made it clear that he expects new schools to be built, as well as those that are heavily refurbished, to include sprinkler systems as a safeguard against school fires.

“In the past five years there have been nearly 150 arson attacks on schools in the old Avon area. Across the country, over 2,000 schools a year suffer school fires. The majority are set deliberately.

“School fires cost an estimated £74 million in 2006; an increase of £7 million since 2005. Sprinklers are 99% effective in controlling fires, so as more schools are rebuilt or substantially refurbished we should see a significant reduction in the number and extent of school fires.

“Not only will this reduce the cost and educational disruption schools experience from these fires, but more importantly, save lives”.