The Scottish Government

Enforcement of Fire Safety in Crown Premises

The Chief Inspector will hold the appointment of Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Authorities in order to fulfil various statutory functions under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.

This includes a duty to enforce fire safety legislation in Crown premises. Two enforcement officers are appointed by the Chief Inspector to undertake this work.

Background

Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 as amended (the 2005 Act) came into force on 1 October 2006. This Act replaced a wide range of existing fire safety legislation and instead places broad general duties on employers and others responsible for premises. These are supplemented by more detailed requirements on fire safety measures contained in the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 [SSI 2006/456].

Where the Crown is subject to any of the general fire safety duties contained in Chapter 1 of Part 3 of the 2005 Act, enforcement of the legislation is undertaken by the enforcement officers appointed by the Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Authorities rather than those appointed by the local fire and rescue authority (Section 61).

Crown Premises

Section 77 of the 2005 Act deals with the application of the Act to Crown bodies operating in Scotland.

Crown bodies, in this context, include the main central Government Departments (both devolved and reserved), their Executive Agencies, Non-ministerial Departments and a small number of other public bodies. Most public bodies (more formally known as Non-departmental Public Bodies or NDPBs) do not have Crown status.

The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) maintains a list of UK Crown Bodies for the purposes of Crown copyright.

Crown enforcement officers do not have responsibility for enforcement in:

• premises occupied solely for the purposes of the armed forces of the Crown (and other premises wholly situated within such premises), or premises occupied solely by visiting forces - these are the responsibility of the Defence Fire and Rescue Service
• Crown Premises with special process hazards - for example, nuclear installations and some construction sites - these are the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive.

Sources of further information and our policy on enforcement

The Scottish Government has prepared detailed information about the new legislation and practical guidance for dutyholders which is available on the Firelaw website.

Our enforcement policy sets out the way in which we enforce the legislation. It describes how we undertake statutory audits of premises and the type of enforcement action that may be taken in the event of non-compliance. It includes information about appeals, determinations and complaints and also contains some generic guidance on the relevant fire safety measures.

Fire Safety in Crown Premises :Enforcement Policy (January 2009)

Fire Certificates

The 2005 Act replaced the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and dispensed with the previous system of fire certification. Existing Crown fire certificates, notices of exemption and applications for a fire certificate are no longer valid.

Contact details

The Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Authorities can be contacted through:

Individual enforcement officers can be contacted via the same address or as detailed below. The local council areas assigned to individual enforcement officers are currently as shown in the table which follows.

East of Scotland
Graham Goodall
Tel: 0131 244 2339
e-mail address: graham.goodall@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

West of Scotland
John Milligan
Tel: 0131 244 2336
e-mail address: john.milligan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk