In the United Kingdom a fire authority or fire and rescue authority is a statutory body made up of a committee of local councillors which oversees the policy and service delivery of a fire and rescue service. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and [1] [2] [3] A fire authority is made up of either councillors, officers or representatives from the local principal councils in the geographical area that the fire service operates. In the case of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, there is an additional layer of governance above in the form of the London Assembly. The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA is a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA and was established under the Greater London Authority The London Assembly is an elected body part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power with a two-thirds
The mix of statutory bodies involved in fire and rescue service structure, planning and provision is complicated with the advent of devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the central government body in England and Wales is the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Department for Communities and Local Government (branded as Communities and Local Government) is the United Kingdom government department for communities
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Role of a fire authority
In simple terms a local fire authority is a body which ensures that the local fire service is doing its job properly by serving the community as it should. It means that the fire service is answerable for its actions and performance to the general public. One of its main functions is to collect funding from each local council via a precept - a portion of council tax allocated to the FRS.
Legislative powers
Although a fire safety officer is an employee of the fire service and is authorised and answerable to the Chief Fire Officer to exercise powers of inspection, any enforcement or prosecution action taken against organisations by the fire service is brought in the name of the fire authority, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The rank of Chief Fire Officer or CFO is the highest in the fire Service in England and Wales. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order 2005 is a Statutory instrument which places the onus on individuals to carry out risk assessments on certain types of property and submit This statutory instrument applies to England and Wales, similar legislation exists for Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Law, a Statutory Instrument is a form of delegated or Secondary legislation.
The Fire Service's powers of entry and other operational roles are defined by the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 [4] This act provides the legal basis for fire authoritites to carry out community rather than legislative fire safety functions in England and Wales, again, similar legislation applies to Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 is a law of the United Kingdom Parliament enacted in 2004 Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of
There are many specific acts of parliament which deal with fire safety, inspection and enforcement; in October 2006 (later than anticipated), many outdated acts were repealed, and placed under the umbrella of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005[5] Similar legislation applies to Scotland and Northern Ireland:
- Comprehensive list of recent UK fire and rescue service legislation: [1]
See also
References
- ^ Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, Part One (accessed 19 Feb 07)
- ^ Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, Crown Copyright 2005, (accessed 19 Feb 07)
- ^ Explanatory Memorandum to Fire And Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (accessed 19 Feb 07)
- ^ Fire & Rescue Services Act 2004, Pub: The Stationery Office, Crown copyright (accessed 15 Jan 07)
- ^ Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 1541, The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Pub: The Stationery Office, Crown copyright (accessed 15 Feb 07)
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