Please complete the details below as this will help to ensure that we handle your response appropriately.

Transcription

1 Questionnaire: Draft Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations A. Your Details Please complete the details below as this will help to ensure that we handle your response appropriately. Name: Nick Bason Organisation: (if applicable) Association of British Insurers Address: 51 Gresham Street London Post Code: EC2V 7HQ nick. org, uk Telephone Number: B. Draft Fire Safety Regulations Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 makes provision in respect of general duties in relation to premises other than private dwellings and includes a power whereby Scottish Ministers may make regulations in relation to these fire safety duties. The draft regulations which are the subject of this consultation make a number of provisions, including in respect of the carrying out of fire risk assessments and reviews. The regulations will operate along with the provisions of Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 to form a single fire safety regime in Scotland. Sector specific technical guidance will also be produced which will identify means of complying with the legislation. This should be taken into account when formulating your response. You are invited to consider the regulations and respond to the questions listed below.

2 5. Please indicate why you, or your organisation, has an interest in the content of the fire safety regulations. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is the trade association for insurance companies operating in the UK. It represents over 400 members who, between them, account for over 94% of the general insurance business of UK insurance companies. Fire insurance claims are substantial, with material damage and associated business interruption costs at around 1 billion per year, about 60% of which is due to fires in commercial buildings. Whilst insurers recognise the need for risk to life being given high priority, there is also a significant effect on the UK economy in regard to the risk to property and associated impact on jobs, investment and services. 6. Are you familiar with the content of Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 to the extent that it will affect you or your organisation? Yes x No 7a. Is there anything missing from the regulations that you think should be included? Yes (go to 7b below) No (go to 8a) x 7b. What else do you think should be included and why should it be included? Insurers firmly believe Community Fire Safety should include the business sector, as around 80% of jobs and services to the community are provided by the private sector, albeit that some of this is funded via the public purse. Community Fire Safety needs to be delivered as a comprehensive programme of education, as there is a danger that some SMEs will 'slip through the net' and be left either without proper fire safety precautions, or be unaware how the legislation has changed or how they can carry out risk assessment. There are over 6 million SME businesses in the UK. Their stability is critical to the economy but their survival is often dependent on external specialist support. The regulations should be clearer about the support that will be provided to SMEs and how the enforcement regime will be carried out. SMEs are far less likely to have in-house

3 resources and expertise in risk assessment than larger businesses, who may be able to carryout these assessments with relative ease and at relatively little cost. SMEs are also less likely to have the time or financial resources to develop the required expertise for training under Section 16, or secure external support from consultancy services. Indeed, external consultancy may be inadequate to advise the needs of some small businesses. Fire Service inspection regimes enforcing compliance with these regulations must be targeted and structured to tackle high-risk areas where the impacts of non-compliance will be greatest. The legislation should state clearly the basis for allocation of Fire and Rescue Services resources. Impacts must include impacts on jobs and services in the local community alongside risk to life. The ABI believes that fire prevention work should consider all economic and social losses when looking to target Fire Service resources, and that support should be provided to SMEs to ensure high quality risk assessments. The Fire Safety regulations should support the legislation that currently exists and not place any undue burdens on SMEs. 8a. Is there anything included in the regulations which you think is inappropriate? Yes (go to 8b below) No (go to 9 a) x 8b. What do you think is inappropriately included in the regulations, and why is it inappropriate? Regulation 6 of the legislation specifies that where an employer employs 5 people or more, the specific information relevant to the fire risk assessment must be recorded. The regulations should also make provision for micro businesses that employ three or four employees and are thus on the cusp of the regulations. These organisations require support from the Fire Service about the regulations and what the legal requirements on them are, were they to expand. A survey undertaken by the Federation of Small Businesses showed that up to half of SMEs expected to expand modestly over the next two years.

4 9a. Does the Explanatory Note help your understanding of the purpose and content of the regulations? Yes (go to loa) No (go to 9b below) x 9b. How do you think the Explanatory Note could be improved? The ABI believes the Explanatory Note is generally a useful document. The Note does however state that many of the new regulations simply replicate duties undercurrent workplace fire precautions legislation. It would be helpful if the Note were to outline what the new duties contained within it were. This would improve accessibility and understanding of the new regulations particularly among SMEs, where time resources are limited. loa. On the basis of the regulations and Explanatory Note alone, do you understand the responsibility that the regulations will place on you and your organisation? Yes (go to 11) No (go to lob below) x lob. In which area(s) would you like further clarification to assist with understanding? It is not clear from the legislation what additional resources will be made available to the Fire Service to ensure that these regulations are enforced. Proper training must be in place to support those staff carrying out this risk-based inspection, and any additional appropriately qualified staff should be recruited as necessary. The implementation of these regulations should not lead to a 'tick box' approach to risk assessment. The legislation and subsequent implementation by the Fire Service must give consideration to risk factors and their inter-relationships, together with any fire detection and suppression systems in place, including Fire Service response times. The risk assessment and inspection must be proportionate to the level of risk.

5 11. Do you have any further comments on the draft regulations, or on the consultation process? Insurers believe that the Fire Safety in Scotland Regulations should support current Fire and Rescue Services legislation and ensure that Fire and Rescues Services in Scotland are able to provide adequate support to enable compliance with the new regulations. Legislation across the UK should be consistent to ensure that businesses can assess and manage risk and insurers are able to properly understand and price risk on a ukwidescale. This is also vitally important to the reputation of the Fire Service, as confusion about the role or duties of the Fire Service could result in negative publicity. ABI welcomes the opportunity to comment of the draft guidance documents.