Archived decisions
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority |
Item |
4 December 2002 |
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Proposed Reform of Fire Safety Legislation |
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Report of the Chief Fire Officer |
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Contact: |
John Bonney - Deputy Chief Fire Officer 023 8064 4000 Ext 207 | |
1 |
Introduction | |
1.1 |
Spring 2004 has been set as the date which should see sweeping changes to UK fire safety legislation in England and Wales. It will affect employers, the fire industry and fire authorities and will herald the start of a new fire safety regime that will push forward the principles of risk management. | |
1.2 |
The new regime will significantly change existing fire safety law and practice. There will be a stronger onus on employers to carry out suitable risk assessments of their workplaces and changes will be made to the way fire safety is enforced by fire authorities. | |
1.3 |
It is also proposed to make Community Fire Safety a statutory duty for fire authorities. | |
2 |
The Aim of Reform | |
2.1 |
There are two major pieces of fire safety legislation, the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997, as amended. These are based on two different principles - fire certification and risk assessment, respectively, and apply in different types of premises. The Act applies to hotels, factories, offices, shops and railway premises that meet certain criteria, whilst the Regulations apply in all workplaces where people are employed to work. | |
2.2 |
This means that in a large number of premises, two separate fire safety regimes apply, based on totally different philosophies. In addition, there are many other pieces of legislation which contain fire safety provisions. They are sometimes inconsistent and can be difficult to understand, which is all highly confusing for business. | |
2.3 |
The aim of the reform will be to simplify, rationalise and consolidate existing legislation. It will provide for a risk based approach to fire safety allowing more efficient, effective enforcement by the Fire Service. | |
3 |
Implementation of Reform | |
3.1 |
The reform of fire safety legislation will be by way of a Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order under Regulatory Reform Act 2001 and be subject to the outcome of consultation. It should be implemented after Spring 2004. | |
3.2 |
The proposed new Order will remove the legislative overlap by replacing both the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 and as much of the remaining legislation as is practical. It will seek to safeguard all occupants of buildings and people in the vicinity of buildings, not just employees. | |
3.3 |
The result of the reform should be that wherever the public has access to a place, there should be someone responsible for assessing the risks of fire and implementing measures to remove or reduce those risks. | |
4 |
Fire Certification | |
4.1 |
The issuing of fire certificates under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 will cease and the requirements of the new regime would be built around the principles established by the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 as amended. The new order would seek to safeguard all occupants of buildings and people in the vicinity of buildings, not just employees. | |
5 |
Safety of Firefighters | |
5.1 |
The fire precautions should take account of the need to keep to a minimum the risk to firefighters who may have to enter a burning building. At present the law requires that new buildings should be fitted with facilities specifically for the use and protection of the firefighters, but there is no requirement to ensure such facilities are fit for use when needed. The proposed Order will remedy this by placing on the responsible person all ongoing duty and requirement to maintain any facilities which have been provided under the Building Regulations for the use and protection of firefighters. | |
6. |
Guidance Documents | |
6.1 |
A series of separate guidance documents, issued by the Government, containing advice to users as to how they can meet their responsibilities will be produced for the following premises: | |
· Care homes · Schools, boarding schools, further education establishments · Office, shops · Factories, warehouses, superstores · Pubs, clubs, restaurants · Theatres, cinemas · Museums, galleries, libraries · Hotels, boarding houses, hostels · Sub-surface railway stations | ||
7 |
Application and Scope | |
7.1 |
The new Fire Safety Order would cover virtually all places to which the public have access except: | |
· Single private dwellings · Offshore installations · Ships - except insofar as they are permanently moored or are undergoing repairs by persons other than the master or crew · Agricultural and forestry land away from the buildings of the undertaking · Means of transport · Mines (other than buildings on the surface) | ||
7.2 |
The new Order would apply to certain groups not already covered, including certain premises used by the self-employed (but not where they work at home) and the voluntary sector. | |
8 |
Crown Immunity | |
8.1 |
The Crown is immune from prosecution under fire safety legislation. The intention, therefore, is to maintain the status quo in respect to fire safety legislation. | |
9 |
Licensing | |
9.1 |
The employer, or other responsible person in licensed premises, will need to make a risk assessment taking account of the safety from fire of everyone on the premises and in the vicinity. The enforcing authority will be the licensing authority who have to consult the fire authority. The fire safety law will be enforced by the fire authority who will, before agreeing the risk assessment, take into account other linked risks that may be drawn to their attention by the licensing authority as part of the statutory consultation. | |
10 |
Housing | |
10.1 |
Housing authorities should continue to be the primary enforcing authority for houses in multiple occupation, but fire authorities should continue to provide advice, particularly on fire precautions in licensed houses in multiple occupation. | |
10.2 |
Fire authorities should continue to be able to prohibit or restrict the use of a place where there is a serious risk to persons in the case of fire. | |
11 |
Enforcement of Fire Safety Legislation | |
11.1 |
The fire authority should be the primary enforcing authority for the fire safety legislation. However, in some areas it would be more appropriate for other bodies to be the appropriate enforcing authority: | |
· Health & Safety Executive - nuclear installations and ships under construction or repair · Ministry of Defence's Fire Service - places used by visiting forces · Local authority - premises subject to safety certification under the Safety of Places of Sport Act 1975 and the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987 ( this work is carried out by a committee on which the fire authority sit) | ||
11.2 |
In respect of consultation, fire authorities, when consulted on applications under building control legislation, would advise on the precautions which would be required given the likely use of the building. This would allow prospective users to consider risks that may arise and consider their plans and arrangements at the earliest possible stage and amend them where necessary. | |
11.3 |
There will be no statutory bar preventing fire authorities from requiring additional work following Building Regulations approval. | |
11.4 |
Fire authorities will be under a duty to enforce the new Fire Safety Order, accepting that the new regime is based on the principle that employers and people responsible for activities giving rise to risk have the responsibility for the fire safety on their premises, and the people who use them. | |
12 |
Validation of Fire Safety Solutions | |
12.1 |
The removal of the certification process gives rise to the question of how one defines 'high risk'. One of the fundamental advantages of the reform is that fire authorities will be freed to apply their resources to the inspection of premises which they consider, on the basis of their local knowledge, and with the assistance of guidance by the Secretary of State, to present the most risk. | |
12.2 |
We have concerns that if Fire Authorities have to validate risk assessments it could compromise their enforcement role and also that there could be significant resource implication to cope with an increased workload. | |
13 |
Charging for Providing Advice | |
13.1 |
At present, advice is given on request and free of charge under Section 1(1)(f) of the Fire Services Act 1947. Many fire authorities favour this on the grounds that a charge would deter people from seeking advice, to the detriment of fire safety. Charging would also seem to be inconsistent with the risk assessment-based approach and the principles of the Enforcement Concordat. On balance therefore, it has been concluded that fire authorities should not be able to charge for any services related to fire safety. | |
14 |
Power to Investigate Fires | |
14.1 |
Current legislation contains no power authorising fire officers investigating the causes of fire to enter premises where a fire has occurred without the consent of the owner or occupier. The new order will include a simple power to enter premises (including domestic premises) for the purpose of investigating a fire. | |
15 |
Power to Take Samples | |
15.1 |
It may be essential for a fire officer, investigating the cause of a fire, to be able to remove items for examination. The new Order should include such a power which would also be useful to a fire safety officer/inspector who needs to determine whether dangerous materials are being stored on a site which is subject to fire safety legislation. The power could also require production of any test certificates. | |
16 |
Community Fire Safety | |
16.1 |
The Fire Service has a role in contributing to the Government's objective of reducing fire deaths in the home. Whilst community fire safety and education is now a cornerstone of Fire Service work, there is no statutory provision authorising fire authorities to carry it out. The new Order will insert a provision in the Fire Services Act 1947 incorporating such a duty. | |
17 |
Financial Considerations for HFRS | |
17.1 |
Although it is hard to predict the final outcome of the consultation on the Regulatory reforms, it seems unlikely that the workloads for the fire inspectors will decrease, and therefore it is anticipated that the existing number of inspectors will still be required. | |
17.2 |
In future, the inspection regime will be matched to resources and so there should be no significant increase in personnel costs as a result of the new proposals to enforce legislation. However, the existing fire safety IT database may need to be upgraded or replaced. It is impossible, until the requirements under the Regulatory Reform Order are known, to estimate the likely costs of a replacement system. | |
17.3 |
To date, HFRA has invested considerable resources and provided finance to undertake community fire safety activities voluntarily ahead of any legislative duty. However, it is not known if the new duty imposed on the Authority to undertake community fire safety could add a further financial burden to the budget. | |
17.4 |
Representation has been made to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister under consultation, that if a statutory duty is imposed to carry out community fire safety then there should be an increase in SSA proportionate to the requirements contained in the Regulatory Reform Order. | |
18 |
Further Report to HFRA | |
18.1 |
There will be a need for a more detailed report on the likely implications of the reform of Fire Safety Legislation to the HFRA when consultation is completed and the draft legislation is issued. I expect to produce a report to the HFRA Committee meeting on 17 September 2003 detailing the actual duties placed on the HFRA and the specific financial implications. | |
19 |
European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 | |
19.1 |
The proposals within this report are compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998, and considered in the light of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. | |
Recommendation | ||
That the Members note the report. | ||
Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers | ||
None | ||
NB The list excludes: | ||
1 Published works | ||
2 Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act | ||
Dir Fin: HFRA 4 12 2002 - Proposed Reform of FSLegislation 14/11/2002 | ||