§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many hotels and boarding houses have (a) closed, (b) reduced their number of letting bedrooms below the qualifying level, or (c) been converted to self-catering establishments through inability to comply with the requirements of the fire officers acting under the terms of the Fire Precautions Act 1971;
(2) if he will list, for all fire authority areas in England and Wales (a) the number of hotels and boarding houses in each area, (b) the numbers that have applied for certification under the provisions of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, (c) the number that have been inspected, (d) the number that have been refused certificates, and (e) the number of hotels and 115W boarding houses which have not yet applied to be inspected;
(3) if he will list, by fire authority area, the percentage of hotels and boarding houses in each area which has now been issued with a fire certificate under the terms of the Fire Precautions Act.
§ Dr. SummerskillI shall be seeking relevant information from fire authorities at the end of the year, and I shall write to the hon. Member when the returns have been collated.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals by small hotels and boarding houses against the requirements of fire authorities have been made in pursuance of requirements made following the passage of the Fire Precautions Act; and if he will list them for each fire authority area.
§ Dr. SummerskillOnly three such appeals had been made up to April of this year. For this reason, it has not hitherto been considered necessary to seek this information from fire authorities on a regular basis, but it will be obtained annually as from the end of next year, following the extension of the Act to a wider range of premises.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the rate of issue of fire certificates to hotels and boarding houses under the terms of the Fire Precautions Act 1971; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe rate of progress in the implementation of the Fire Precautions (Hotels and Boarding Houses) Order 1972 (S.I. 1972 No. 238) is broadly satisfactory, having regard to current constraints on local authorities' resources, although I am aware that there are difficulties in some areas.