Look back into the recent past, and there were debates about whether there should be registration schemes for fire risk assessors.
It seemed that the business of conducting fire risk assessments (FRAs) was about to move out of the amateur world and into a more professional future. Maybe, some of us dared to hope, the dumbing down of fire risk assessments would end.
(I make this comment in the context of official guidance on the subject, which encourages businesses to have a go themselves, regardless of size and complexity. And does anyone else remember John Prescott soothing business owners with a promise that an FRA could only cost GB pound 50?)
Political turnaround
The idea of the registration scheme came about in the early days after Lakanal House as one of the proposals to avoid a similar tragedy in future.
Of course, all this happened under a previous administration. The current one has been cutting back on regulation; the world of health and safety is already very different thanks to a radical overhaul, and there’s more to come.
So, in this context, recent quotes from Health and Safety portfolio Minister Mark Hoban are somewhat worrying.
“Overbearing burden”
Fire Magazine reports that when speaking at the British Safety Council Annual Conference on 5 June 2013, Mr Hoban responded to questions about the impact of fire risk assessments on businesses by saying that “there is a need to look at the burden of current [fire safety] requirements”.
He apparently used the term “overbearing” in describing the current system of fire risk assessment. His words, (though reported in a muddled sentence whose meaning is somewhat ambiguous), seem to imply that some types of lower-risk premises might be made exempt from the need to carry out a fire risk assessment altogether. Or that certain fire risk assessment “criteria” might be cut to reduce red-tape (sorry — we’re not entirely sure what he means by FRA criteria here either!).
What is coming over loud and clear however is that the fire industry should be braced for a change. There’s no reason to think that fire legislation and guidance will be left unscathed by the bonfire of legislation and regulation.
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Burden! What burden? It is a ‘duty of care’ and one that can not be ignored by any Responsible Person. If you as an RP have a premise; there are certain things you must do to make sure that people who are legitimately in the building are safe. Fire is just one area the RP has to consider. The concept of reducing the need for a fire risk assessment is like saying a restaurant kitchen can reduce its cleaning regime or a coach company can reduce the service period for its coaches. All very well until the first person… Read more »
Initial comments posted seem to focus on phrases such as “what is meant by assessment criteria” rather than the general message coming from government about health and safety including fire safety that health and safety needs to be simplified and brought back to a level that is practical and understood by staff involved, i.e. Let’s make it simple and effective. I have seen so many fire risk assessments that are way over the top for very simple businesses which discredits the assessment to the level that it gets ignored as being not relevant. I equally have seen fire risk assessments… Read more »
How can places be exempt from carrying out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment? What the government minister seems to be saying is that if you only have a small business employing only 1 or 2 people that in a fire you can afford to lose 1 or both employees. I am sure that this sort of situation would be seen by the government as an acceptable loss as long as you are not adding cost to business.
Well said Simon.
I only hope government ministers are watching this and other professional debating pathways!
All I can say on this is if the minister and the government believe it then repeal the legislation – thats easily done! Look at the audience he was talking to – all safety people, the psychology of this is to make these punters feel awkward and threatened so they go away to think about their activities and fees and maybe reduce them. Classic ploy, put the fear up people by threat and they control themselves (hopefully) whilst the Government doesn’t need to do anything except feed its ego. Haven’t we just employed a new Government Fire… Read more »