HL Deb 29 July 1997 vol 582 cc34-6WA
Baroness Turner of Camden

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will comment on the implementation of the general fire safety aspects of the European Community Framework and Workplace Directives.

Lord Williams of Mostyn

After consulting my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, my honourable friend the Minister of State (Mr. Howarth) announced on 16 July that we proposed to implement the outstanding fire safety elements of the European Community Framework and Workplace Directives. Today, my honourable friend has signed and laid before Parliament the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997, made under the European Communities Act 1972, to apply throughout Great Britain. A Compliance Cost Assessment is attached to the regulations showing that the estimated costs to employers attributable to these regulations will be less than £30 million. He has placed copies of these documents in the Library. To assist employers, there will be a package of user-friendly guidance comprising a handy free card summarising the regulations and employers' rights and a short booklet, both of which will be widely available.

The regulations take into account the views expressed in the many responses received during the consultation exercise carried out last year and the representations received since then from business interests and the fire service. We are grateful to business and fire service representatives for the assistance they have given to our officials during the drafting of the regulations and supporting guidance.

Where appropriate, the regulations have been drafted using copy-out language. This ensures that there is full compliance with the directives but that no unnecessary costs are imposed on business.

The regulations put the primary responsibility for fire safety in the workplace upon employers. It is for them to determine and provide the measures they believe to be necessary to meet the risk from fire identified in their premises. In this way, what is provided will be appropriate to the risks, and tailored to the specific circumstances of the workplace. The regulations incorporate a new approach to fire safety enforcement. Most significant breaches of the regulations can be dealt with by civil sanctions, with the onus of proof on the fire authority rather than the employer. However, to emphasise the importance of fire safety, criminal sanctions will remain for serious risks.

The regulations include some of the user-friendly enforcement safeguards of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994. They will be enforced by the fire authority, which will use the employer's own assessment of the risk from fire as a starting point. The fire service has an important role to play. It will offer employers advice and assistance in meeting their obligations and avoiding over provision.

The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations will come into effect in England, Scotland and Wales on 1 December 1997 and will make explicit what is already implicit in United Kingdom law. In light of the existing general duties of care which employers owe to their staff, businesses should, for the most part, already have in place what these regulations require of them. As standards of fire safety in the workplace are already generally high in Great Britain, most businesses will have little to do, and this is reflected in the total estimated compliance costs of less than £30 million. These are significantly lower than the previous estimates of costs of more than £1.7 billion which were associated with earlier drafts of the regulations.