§ Sir John Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of hotels in Scotland that still need to carry out work in order to comply with the Fire Precautions Act; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. William RossAbout 6,400 hotels and boarding houses in Scotland have applied for fire certificates under the Fire Precautions Act 1971. Enforcement of this Act is the responsibility of fire authorities, and inspections and negotiations in connection with the hotels in their areas are at many different stages. I am, therefore, unable to estimate at this stage how many of those that have applied for a fire certificate will require to do work to meet the requirements. Fire authorities are, however, aware of the importance of ensuring that all premises are brought up to the required standard of fire safety as soon as possible; and apart from any work that may be required a great deal can be done in hotels to minimise fire risks by the taking of sensible precautions. Information about such measures has already been made available to hotels in Scotland.