§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the approximate total of applications outstanding from hotels and boardinghouses for certificates under the Fire Precautions Act; how many have been issued; and what is his estimate of the number of premises for which certificates have not been issued or requested.
§ Dr. SummerskillBy 31st December 1973 fire authorities in England and Wales had issued fire certificates in respect of 589 hotels and boardinghouses. A further 9,281 premises had been inspected and 35,007 applications remained to be dealt with. We are seeking a further return from fire authorities at the end of this year. In the meantime no reliable estimate can be made of the number of premises in respect of which an application has not yet been received.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that, following local government reorganisation, some hotels, which have been passed as conforming to the requirements of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, are now required to carry out different and additional work on the instructions of the fire officers in their new local government areas; and if he will issue a 57W circular to local authorities advising them to concentrate their resources on properties which have not yet been assessed by fire officers.
§ Dr. SummerskillIn certain circumstances, for example, where alterations are made to premises after the issue of the fire certificate—the fire authority may properly require further steps to be taken. The enforcement of the Act is the responsibility of fire authorities; but if the hon. Member will send me details of the cases he has in mind I will arrange for the matter to be looked into.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied that the guidance from his Department to chief fire officers ensures uniformity throughout England and Wales concerning the recommendations made by fire officers and their staff, so that small hotels and guest houses can anticipate work to be carried out under the Fire Precautions Act.
§ Dr. SummerskillWhile the guidance contained in the Hotels and Boarding Houses Guide to the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and the advice given by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Fire Services are designed to ensure a uniform approach by the fire authorities to the implementation of the Act, the requirements for individual premises are likely to vary according to circumstances, and it would be wise for occupiers to consult the fire authority before having work done.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each local authority area in England and Wales the number of hotels and guest houses which are required to comply with the regulations imposted under the Fire Precautions Act 1971.
§ Dr. SummerskillBy 31st December 1973 fire authorities in England and Wales had received applications for fire certificates in respect of 44,877 hotels and boardinghouses. We are seeking further information from fire authorities at the end of this year and will consider whether that information can be published on an area basis. In the meantime, no reliable estimate can be made of the total number of hotels and boardinghouses designated under the Act.
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§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he is taking to ascertain the total number of premises in England and Wales which are required to carry out work consequent upon the passage of the Fire Precautions Act 1971;
(2) what steps he has taken to ascertain the total number of small hotels and guest houses required to undertake work following the passage of the Fire Precautions Act 1971; and if he is satisfied that sufficient information is available to his Department to ensure that information about the total number of premises is available to him;
(3) how many premises he estimates there are in England and Wales which are required to undertake work resulting from the passage of the Fire Precautions Act 1971.
§ Dr. SummerskillI regret that this information is not available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has, so far, been the average cost per bedroom in England and Wales of the implementation of work required to be done by hotels and guest houses consequent upon the passage of the Fire Precautions Act, in hotels of the following capacity and of the following date, namely, pre 1920, 1920– 1960, post 1960, and the following categories of room sizes, 4–10 rooms, 11–25 rooms, 26–50 rooms, 51–100 rooms, 101– 200 rooms, 201–500 rooms, and over 500 rooms; and if from these figures he will extrapolate the cost per establishment in the various room sizes.
§ Dr. SummerskillI regret that this information is not available.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list those local authorities which have, under the Fire Precautions Loans Act, provided loans for the implementation of work required to be done resultant from the passing of the Fire Precautions Act 1971; and if he will set out in the OFFICIAL REPORT the amounts made available by all those local authorities which have provided loans in England and Wales;
59W(2) if he will list those local authorities in England and Wales to which application has been made, by small hotels and guest houses, for loans under the Fire Precautions Loans Act, and which have been refused, listing the authorities and the amounts of money concerned;
(3) what proportion of the expenditure by hotels and guest houses on work implementing the regulations of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 is covered by loans provided by local authorities under the Fire Precautions (Loans) Act.
§ Dr. SummerskillI am not in a position to give detailed information about the operation of the Fire Precautions (Loans) Act 1973 since the decision whether or not to meet applications for loans is, within the limits of the scheme, entirely a matter for the local authorities concerned; but by 1st November 1974 loan sanctions totalling £2,634,650 had been granted to 153 local authorities in England and Wales to enable them to provide loans under the Act.