Office of Public Sector Information

[F19C Legal effect of codes of practice

(1)A failure on the part of a person to observe any provision of a code of practice under section 9B of this Act shall not of itself render him liable to any criminal or civil proceedings.

(2)If, in any proceedings whether civil or criminal under this Act, it is alleged that there has been a contravention on the part of any person of the duty imposed by section 9A of this Act—

(a)a failure to observe a provision of a code of practice under section 9B of this Act may be relied on as tending to establish liability, and

(b)compliance with such a code may be relied on as tending to negative liability.]

[F19D Improvement notices

(1)Where a fire authority are of the opinion that the duty imposed by section 9A of this Act has been contravened in respect of any premises to which that section applies, they may serve on the occupier of those premises a notice (in this Act referred to as “an improvement notice”) which—

(a)states they are of that opinion;

(b)specifies, by reference to a code of practice under section 9B of this Act if they think fit, what steps they consider are necessary to remedy that contravention; and

(c)requires the occupier to take steps to remedy that contravention within such period (ending not earlier than the period within which an appeal against the improvement notice can be brought under section 9E of this Act) as may be specified in the notice.

(2)Where an improvement notice has been served under subsection (1) above—

(a)the fire authority may withdraw that notice at any time before the end of the period specified in the notice; and

(b)if an appeal against the improvement notice is not pending, the fire authority may extend or further extend the period specified in the notice.

(3)Where any premises are premises to which section 9A of this Act applies and—

(a)the building which constitutes or comprises the premises is a building to which at the time of its erection building regulations imposing requirements as to means of escape in case of fire applied; and

(b)in connection with the erection of that building plans were, in accordance with building regulations, deposited with a local authority,

the fire authority shall not in pursuance of subsection (1) above serve an improvement notice requiring structural or other alterations relating to the means of escape from the premises unless the requirements of subsection (4) below are satisfied in relation to those premises.

(4)The requirements of this subsection are satisfied in relation to such premises as are mentioned in subsection (3) above if—

(a)regulations are in force under section 12 of this Act applying to the premises in relation to any use of them as respects which exemption under section 5A of this Act has been granted, being regulations which impose requirements as to means of escape in case of fire, and the fire authority are satisfied that alterations to the building which constitutes or comprises the premises are necessary to bring the premises into compliance with the regulations in respect of those requirements; or

(b)the fire authority are satisfied that the means of escape in case of fire with which the premises are provided are inadequate in relation to any such use of the premises by reason of matters or circumstances of which particulars were not required by or under the building regulations to be supplied to the local authority in connection with the deposit of plans.

(5)In this section “structural or other alterations relating to means of escape from the premises”, in relation to any such premises as are mentioned in this section, means structural or other alterations directly connected with the provision of the premises with adequate means of escape in case of fire.

(6)Subsections (3) to (5) above extend to England and Wales only.]

[F19E Rights of appeal against improvement notices

(1)A person on whom an improvement notice is served may, within twenty-one days from the date on which the improvement notice is served, appeal to the court.

(2)On an appeal under this section, the court may either cancel or affirm the notice, and, if it affirms it, may do so either in its original form or with such modifications as the court may in the circumstances think fit.

(3)Where an appeal is brought under this section against an improvement notice, the bringing of the appeal shall have the effect of suspending the operation of the notice until the appeal is finally disposed of or, if the appeal is withdrawn, until the withdrawal of the appeal.]

[F19F Provision as to offences

(1)It is an offence for a person to contravene any requirement imposed by an improvement notice.

(2)Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) above shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.]

Premises involving excessive risk to persons in case of fire

[F110 Special procedure in cases of special risk: prohibition notices

(1)This section applies to—

(a)any premises which are being or are proposed to be put to a use (whether designated or not) which falls within at least one of the classes of use mentioned in section 1(2) of this Act, other than premises of the description given in section 2 of this Act; and

(b)any premises to which section 3 of this Act for the time being applies.

(2)If as regards any premises to which this section applies the fire authority are of the opinion that use of the premises involves or will involve a risk to persons on the premises in case of fire so serious that use of the premises ought to be prohibited or restricted, the authority may serve on the occupier of the premises a notice (in this Act referred to as “a prohibition notice”).

(3)The matters relevant to the assessment by the fire authority, for the purposes of subsection (2) above, of the risk to persons in the case of fire include anything affecting their escape from the premises in that event.

(4)A prohibition notice shall—

(a)state that the fire authority are of the opinion referred to in subsection (2) above;

(b)specify the matters which in their opinion give or, as the case may be, will give rise to that risk; and

(c)direct that the use to which the prohibition notice relates is prohibited or restricted to such extent as may be specified in the notice until the specified matters have been remedied.

(5)A prohibition notice may include directions as to the steps which will have to be taken to remedy the matters specified in the notice.

(6)A prohibition or restriction contained in a prohibition notice in pursuance of subsection (4)(c) above shall take effect immediately it is served if the authority are of the opinion, and so state in the notice, that the risk of serious personal injury is or, as the case may be, will be imminent, and in any other case shall take effect at the end of a period specified in the prohibition notice.

(7)Where a prohibition notice has been served under subsection (2) above the fire authority may withdraw the notice at any time.]

[F110A Rights of appeal against prohibition notices

(1)A person on whom a prohibition notice is served may, within twenty-one days from the date on which the prohibition notice is served, appeal to the court.

(2)On an appeal under this section, the court may either cancel or affirm the notice, and, if it affirms it, may do so either in its original form or with such modifications as the court may in the circumstances think fit.

(3)Where an appeal is brought under this section against a prohibition notice, the bringing of the appeal shall not have the effect of suspending the operation of the notice, unless, on the application of the appellant, the court so directs (and then only from the giving of the direction).]

[F110B Provision as to offences

(1)lt shall be an offence for any person to contravene any prohibition or restriction imposed by a prohibition notice.

(2)In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) above where the person charged is a person other than the person on whom the prohibition notice was served, it shall he a defence for that person to prove that he did not know and had no reason to believe the notice had been served.

(3)Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) above shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.]

Building and other regulations about fire precautions

11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

12 Power of Secretary of State to make regulations about fire precautions

(1)In the case of any particular use of premises which he has power to designate under section 1 of this Act the Secretary of State may by regulations make provision as to the precautions which, as regards premises put to that use, or any specified class of such premises, are to be taken or observed in relation to the risk to persons in case of fire, but so that nothing in any regulations made under this section shall apply to premises of [F1the description given in] section 2 of this Act . . . [F3F2and nothing in this section shall confer on the Secretary of State power to make provision with respect to the taking or observance of special precautions in connection with the carrying on of any manufacturing process.]

(2)The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision as to the precautions which are to be taken or observed in relation to the risk to persons in case of fire as regards premises which, while section 3 of this Act applies to them and a notice under that section is in force in relation to them, are used as a dwelling, or any specified class of such premises.

(3)Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by subsections (1) and (2) above, regulations made by him under this section may in particular, as regards any premises to which they apply, impose requirements—

(a)as to the provision, maintenance and keeping free from obstruction of means of escape in case of fire;

(b)as to the provision and maintenance of means for securing that any means of escape can be safely and effectively used at all material times;

(c)as to the provision and maintenance of means for fighting fire and means for giving warning in case of fire;

(d)as to the internal construction of the premises and the materials used in that construction;

(e)for prohibiting altogether the presence or use in the premises of furniture or equipment of any specified description, or prohibiting its presence or use unless specified standards or conditions are complied with;

(f)for securing that persons employed to work in the premises receive appropriate instruction or training in what to do in case of fire;

(g)for securing that, in specified circumstances, specified numbers of attendants are stationed in specified parts of the premises; and

(h)as to the keeping of records of instruction or training given, or other things done, in pursuance of the regulations.

(4)Regulations under this section—

(a)may impose requirements on persons other than occupiers of premises to which they apply; and

(b)may, as regards any of their provisions, make provision as to the person or persons who are to be responsible for any contravention thereof; and

(c)may provide that if any specified provision of the regulations is contravened, the person or each of the persons who under the regulations is or are responsible for the contravention shall be guilty of an offence under this section.

(5)It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, before making any regulations under this section, to consult with such persons or bodies of persons as appear to him requisite.

(6)A person guilty of an offence under this section by virtue of subsection (4)(c) above shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £400;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.

(7)While there are in force under this section any regulations applying to premises put to a particular use, or to any specified class of such premises, a fire authority—

(a)in determining under subsection (3) of section 5 of this Act whether to issue a fire certificate covering that use with respect to any premises to which the regulations apply, shall proceed on the footing that, as regards any matter mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d) of that subsection about which provision is made in the regulations, no more can reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case than is required by the regulations; and

(b)shall not in any fire certificate covering that use issued with respect to any premises to which the regulations apply impose in pursuance of section 6(2) of this Act in relation to that use any requirement as to any matter about which provision is made in the regulations which is more onerous than the requirements of the regulations as to that matter.

(8)Where there are in force under this section any regulations applying to premises put to a particular use, or to any specified class of such premises, and a fire certificate covering that use is in force with respect to any premises to which the regulations apply, then—

(a)so long as the requirements as to any matter which are imposed by the fire certificate in relation to that use are complied with, no person shall be guilty of an offence under the regulations by reason of any contravention of a requirement of the regulations as to that matter;

(b)if as a result of an inspection made under section 8(1) of this Act it appears to the fire authority that any of the matters mentioned in section 6(1)(b) to (e) of this Act is not in conformity with any provision made in the regulations about that matter, the authority shall by notice served on the occupier—

(i)inform him of that fact and of the steps which would have to be taken in relation to the relevant building (whether by way of making alterations to any part of the relevant building or otherwise) to bring the matter in question into conformity with that provision; and

(ii)notify him that if those steps are not taken (whether by himself or otherwise) within such period as may be specified in the notice, the fire certificate may be cancelled;

and if those steps are duly taken, the fire authority shall, if necessary, amend the fire certificate or issue a new one.

(9)Where there is in force a notice under section 3 of this Act relating to any premises, subsection (8)(b) above shall apply to them subject to the modification that the first reference to the occupier shall be read as a reference to the occupier or the notified person, and the other references to the occupier shall be read as references to the occupier or the notified person, as the case may be.

(10)Sections 8(9) and 9 of this Act shall (with the necessary modifications) have effect in a case where a notice is served under subsection (8)(b) above with respect to any premises as they have effect in a case where a notice is served under section 8(5); and where in pursuance of this section the fire authority amend a fire certificate of which by virtue of section 6(9) of this Act a copy is required to be kept in the premises to which the certificate relates, they shall cause the copy to be similarly amended.

(11)No regulations shall after the coming into operation of this subsection be made [F4under section 4(2)(a) of the M1Cinemaa Act 1985]; but any regulations so made which are in force when this subsection comes into operation shall have effect as if made under this section, and may be amended or revoked accordingly.

(12). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F5

13 Exercise of certain powers of fire authority in England or Wales where building regulations as to means of escape apply

(1)Where an application is made for a fire certificate with respect to any premises and—

(a)the relevant building is a building to which at the time of its erection building regulations imposing requirements as to means of escape in case of fire applied; and

(b)in connection with the erection of that building plans were, in accordance with building regulations, deposited with a local authority,

the fire authority shall not in pursuance of section 5(4) of this Act make the issue of a certificate conditional on the making to the building of structural or other alterations relating to escape from the premises unless—

(i)there are in force under section 12 of this Act regulations applying to the premises in relation to any use of the premises specified in the application, being regulations which impose requirements as to means of escape in case of fire or means for securing that any means of escape can be safely and effectively used at all material times, and the fire authority are satisfied that alterations to the relevant building are necessary to bring the premises into compliance with the regulations in respect of those requirements; or

(ii)the fire authority are satisfied that the means of escape in case of fire with which the premises are provided or the means of the sort mentioned in section 5(3)(b) of this Act with which the relevant building is provided are inadequate in relation to any use of the premises so specified by reason of matters or circumstances of which particulars were not required by or under the building regulations to be supplied to the local authority in connection with the deposit of plans.

(2)Where an application is made for a fire certificate with respect to any premises in the circumstances described in subsection (1)(a) and (b) above and since the erection of the building plans have, in accordance with building regulations, been deposited with a local authority in connection with any proposals relating to the building, subsection (1) above shall have effect in relation to that application as if in paragraph (ii) the reference to the deposit of plans included a reference to the deposit of plans in connection with those proposals.

(3)Where, while a fire certificate is in force with respect to any premises, the fire authority receive notice under subsection (2) of section 8 of this Act of any proposals falling within that subsection to which building regulations imposing requirements as to means of escape in case of fire apply, and in connection with those proposals plans have, in accordance with building regulations, been deposited with a local authority, the fire authority shall not in pursuance of subsection (4) of that section make the carrying out of those proposals conditional on the making to the relevant building of structural or other alterations relating to escape from the premises unless—

(a)there are in force under section 12 of this Act regulations applying to the premises in relation to any use of the premises covered by the certificate, being regulations which impose requirements such as are mentioned in subsection (1)(i) above, and the fire authority are satisfied that the carrying out of the proposals in compliance with the requirements of the building regulations will not of itself ensure that, when the proposals have been carried out, the premises will comply with the regulations under section 12 in respect of the requirements such as are mentioned in subsection (1)(i) above which the regulations under section 12 impose; or

(b)the fire authority are satisfied that, by reason of matters or circumstances of which particulars are not required by or under the building regulations to be supplied to the local authority in connection with the deposit of plans, the carrying out of the proposals in compliance with the requirements of the building regulations will not of itself ensure that, when the proposals have been carried out, the means of escape in case of fire with which the premises will then be provided and the means of the sort mentioned in section 5(3)(b) of this Act with which the relevant building will then be provided will be adequate in relation to every use of the premises covered by the certificate.

(4)In this section “structural or other alterations relating to escape from the premises”, in relation to any such premises as are mentioned in this section, means structural or other alterations directly connected with the provision of the premises with adequate means of escape in case of fire or the provision of the relevant building with adequate means of the sort mentioned in section 5(3)(b) of this Act.

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

(6)This section does not extend to Scotland.

14 Exercise of certain powers of fire authority in Scotland where building standards regulations as to means of escape apply

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, where—

(a)building standards regulations imposing requirements as to means of escape in case of fire apply to any building; or

(b)the sheriff, on an appeal to him under section 16 of the M1Building (Scotland) Act 1959—

(i)against an order under section 10 of that Act requiring the execution of operations necessary to make a building conform to a provision of building standards regulations with respect to requirements of the means of escape in case of fire, or

(ii)against an order under section 11 of that Act requiring the building to be made to conform to such a provision,

has varied the order by determining that such operations shall be executed as are necessary to make the building conform to a different standard, or, as the case may be, that the building should conform to a different standard, and the fire authority are satisfied that the building so conforms,

then the fire authority shall not, for the purposes of section 5 [F1, 8 or (in relation to premises to which section 9A applies) 9D(1) and (2)] of this Act, specify any alterations in respect of that building to a standard higher than that of the said regulations or, as the case may be, than that determined by the sheriff.

(2)The restrictions imposed on the fire authority by the foregoing subsection shall not apply where—

(a)there are in force under section 12 of this Act regulations applying to the building in relation to any use of the building, being regulations which impose requirements as to means of escape from fire or means for securing that any means of escape can be safely and effectively used at all material times, and the fire authority are satisfied that alterations to the building are necessary to bring the building into compliance with the regulations in respect of those requirements; or

(b)the fire authority are satisfied that the means of escape in case of fire with which the building is provided or the means of the sort mentioned in section 5(3)(b) of this Act with which the building is provided are inadequate in relation to any use of the building by reason of matters or circumstances of which particulars were not required by or under the building standards regulations.

(3)In this section “building standards regulations” has the same meaning as in the M2Building (Scotland) Act 1959.

Consultation between fire and other authorities

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

16 Duty of local authority to consult fire authority in certain cases before passing plans

(1)Where it is proposed to erect a building or to make any extension of or structural alteration to a building and, in connection with the proposals, plans are, in accordance with building regulations, deposited with a local authority, then, if it appears to the local authority likely—

(a)that the first use to which any premises constituting or comprised in the building or, as the case may be, the building as extended will be put after the proposals are carried out will be a use which at the time of the deposit of the plans was a designated use; or

(b)that the first use to which any such premises will be put after the proposals are carried out will be use as a dwelling, and that one or more of the conditions set out in section 3(1)(a) and (b) of this Act will then be fulfilled as regards those premises,

the local authority, if they are not the fire authority, shall consult the fire authority before passing the plans.

(2)Where it is proposed to change the use to which a building or part of a building is put and, in connection with that proposal, plans are, in accordance with building regulations, deposited with a local authority, then, if it appears to the local authority likely—

(a)that the first use to which any premises constituting or comprised in the building will be put after the time when that change of use occurs will be a use which at the time of the deposit of the plans was a designated use; or

(b)that the first use to which any such premises will be put after the time when that change of use occurs will be use as a dwelling, and that one or more of the conditions set out in section 3(1)(a) and (b) of this Act will then be fulfilled as regards those premises,

the local authority, if they are not the fire authority, shall consult the fire authority before passing the plans.

(3)This section does not extend to Scotland.