§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he takes to ensure that the advice he receives from his fire advisory panel is completely impartial.
§ Mr. YeoThe fire advisory panel has been established to provide a forum for the discussion of technical issues related to fire safety aspects of the Building Regulations 1985. The panel draws its membership from across the whole field of fire safety in buildings, and from both the public and private sectors, and this wide spectrum of professional expertise safeguards the impartiality of the panel's advice. A further safeguard is provided by the need for proposals from the panel for changes to the regulations to be considered by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, which has the statutory responsibility of advising the Secretary of State on them.
§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to revise the membership of his fire advisory panel.
§ Mr. YeoMembership of the fire advisory panel is kept under regular review. A technical expert from the Loss Prevention Council has recently been invited to join the panel.
§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he takes to ensure that the membership of his fire advisory panel is fully representative of all aspects of the fire safety limits.
§ Mr. YeoMembership of the fire advisory panel includes representatives from the Home Office, the Scottish Development Department, and the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) as well as of my Department. Non-governmental members include fire safety consultants, architects, building control officers, representatives of the fire service, and technical experts from universities, fire testing organisations, the building 441W materials industry, and the fire insurance industry. The secretariat is provided by the fire research station. The panel therefore already has available a wide range of experience and expertise, but whenever gaps are identified, steps are taken to fill them.