Scottish Government

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1 On 14 December 2004, the Scottish Executive launched consultation papers on three key aspects of Scotland's Fire and Rescue Service. The consultations covered arrangements for providing strategic policy advice to Ministers, when and for which tasks fire and rescue authorities should be allowed to levy charges, and what additional functions, on top of their functions as defined in sections 8, 9, 10 and 61 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, fire and rescue authorities should undertake. This paper reports on responses to the paper on preparing the first Charging Order.

2 We invited views on the scope and content of our charging proposals. The general consensus was that the categories of service and classes of person to be included in the first Order were appropriate. It was suggested however that this was a complex area and good central guidance and further consultation was required. We recognise the need for clear guidance and will issue good practice guides to accompany the Order. Should it be decided in the future that it would be desirable to extend the powers of the service to charge there will be a further consultation.

INTRODUCTION

Background

3 The Fire (Scotland) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 28 June 2004. The Bill was passed by Parliament on 23 February 2005 and became an Act following Royal Assent on 1 April 2005. Section 16 of the Act enables Scottish Ministers to regulate the services for which the fire and rescue authorities can charge. It is the intention of Ministers to make an Order under Section 16. Regulations under the Act would discharge a commitment made in the The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: Proposals for Legislation to ensure that legislation allows for a sensible charging regime which properly reflects the new principal functions of the service.

4 On 14 December 2004, the Scottish Executive published a consultation paper inviting views on the Charging proposals. 8 categories of interest groups were identified as key stakeholders which formed the basis for the distribution of the consultation paper:

• Local government
• Scottish Parliament
• Government depts/organisations
• Trade unions and staff associations
• Professional bodies/trade associations
• Business sector
• Equality and diversity groups
• Others

5 The consultation paper can be accessed on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/justice/sfrsc-03.asp . It sought views on the content and scope of the proposed Order.

6 The consultation period ended on 8 March 2005 and responses were received from 29 organisations. Generally, the responses were very positive with a considerable degree of support for the draft proposals.

Consultation methods

7 As well as being available on the Scottish Executive's website, 147 hard copies of the paper were distributed to key stakeholders including the 32 local authorities, 8 Fire Authorities, 8 Firemasters, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( COSLA), the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers ( SOLACE), the Chief Fire Officers' Association (Scotland) ( CFOA), the Fire Brigades Union ( FBU) and 6 other trade unions/staff associations. A copy was sent to the Scottish Parliament's Justice 2 Committee, each of the political parties represented in the Scottish Parliament and a further 10 copies were placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

8 Copies were also sent to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ( ODPM), the Scotland Office, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Health and Safety Executive ( HSE), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( SEPA), the Scottish Civic Forum, the Scottish Youth Parliament, the Commission for Racial Equality, the Fire Industry Confederation, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland ( ACPOS) and the Equal Opportunities Commission. A full list of those consulted is at Annex A.

9 A questionnaire was provided that covered all three consultations and consultees were offered the opportunity to complete it online or submit a paper copy. The majority of responses were received in the form of a completed questionnaire with 5 submitted using the online facility.

RESPONSES

Responses received

10 By the end of the consultation period on 8 March 2005, 22 responses had been received and an extended deadline had been agreed with a number of stakeholders to allow their comments to be submitted for consideration. A further 7 responses were received giving a total of 29 responses received .

• 11 Responses were received from:
• 7 fire authorities
• CFOA
• 12 representatives from local authorities
• COSLA
• 1 trade union/staff association ( FBU Scotland)
• the Health and Safety Executive
• Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) ( ACPOS)
• Fire Investigation and Risk Management
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Association of British Insurers
• The Scotch Whisky Association
• Chivas Brothers Limited

Publication of responses

12 All 29 responses were non-confidential and a list of the respondents is at Annex B. The text of the responses is available from the Scottish Executive Information & Library Service, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD and on the consultation page of the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/ .
13 Table 1 provides a breakdown of the number of responses received, by interest group.

Table 1: Respondents by interest group

14 Table 2 provides a more detailed analysis of respondents, including responses received from respondents who had not been specifically targeted.

Table 2: Details of respondents by interest group

FINDINGS

15 Respondents were invited to respond to a questionnaire covering all three consultation papers. Questions 16 to 19 of the questionnaire covered the Charging proposals and a summary of the issues raised in response to each question is provided below.

Charging by Fire and Rescue Authorities (Questions 16 - 19)

Section 16 of the Act allows the Scottish Ministers to set out by order, following consultation, the services for which a fire and rescue authority may charge and the persons who may be subject to the charge. Respondents were invited to comment on any aspect of the proposals in the consultation paper.

Q16. Have any categories of service for which a charge is currently levied been omitted from the Annex to the consultation paper

16 Of 23 responses to this question, 17 were content that no services had been omitted. Five suggested additions and 1 responded as "don't know". Suggestions were to charge for:

• Licensing Houses in Multiple Occupation;
• Reckless or careless use of fire alarm equipment;
• One respondent was interested in seeing a further break down of the "advice only" column to better detail what type of advice authorities are most regularly asked to provide and to whom;
• Removing Dangerous Structures - one respondent contended that this should not necessarily attract a Charge e.g. Roof tiles dislodged in high winds - not appropriate to Charge house owners, tenants etc.

Q

17. Are the classes of person to be charged appropriate for each of the categories of service specified in the Annex?

17 Of 22 responses to this question, 18 were content that the classes were appropriate. Suggested additions were:

• Include persons responsible for mechanical failure, poor maintenance of automatic fire alarms;
• Charges should not be applied in emergency situations where the safety of life is at risk;
• Small business customers should not be seen as an income-generator to the extent that a small business is charged more than a householder for the same service levels. Concern was also expressed about a lack of consistency in charges across Scotland;
• A minor apprehension was expressed concerning 'containment of spillages and leaks' and the possibility that persons might be reluctant to summon much needed fire service attendance for fear of being charged;
• One respondent contended that some of the non-emergency services listed could be provided by private contractors and there could be a suggestion that Fire Service involvement would be deemed 'competitive practice', e.g. leakage from storage tanks, lift rescue (non-emergency), training/consultancy.

Q18. With the exception of the powers under section 3 of the Fire Services Act 1947 and section 20 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, do fire authorities consider that they currently have any other powers to charge or to trade in function related services?

18 There were 19 responses to this question and none considered that there were any other powers. One responded as "don't know".

19 Three respondents did however recommend charging for reckless and careless use of automatic fire alarm equipment.

Q19. How might a distinction be drawn between the provision of free advice on fire safety arrangements and the chargeable provision of detailed advice or consultancy in respect of major projects? Is it appropriate or desirable that any such distinction should be drawn? How might the authority mitigate any apparent conflict of interest between providing chargeable advice and its enforcement role?

20 The general consensus was that this was a complex issue that required detailed, clear and unambiguous central guidance. It was suggested by the majority of respondents that a short term Task and Finish Group should be convened to consider the issue. Authorities contended that they should be given the discretion to set charges on the basis of market rates.

21 One respondent felt strongly that the fire service should provide free advice/training to reduce the frequency and need for call outs. A few respondents also raised concerns regarding charging for advice - could mean businesses are charged twice (also through Business Rates/general taxation) and Small and Medium Enterprises ( SMEs) could be reluctant to approach the fire service for advice in case they are charged for the service.

22 One respondent raised the issue of Public Liability Insurance and stressed that it needed to be factored into fire authority Charging regimes. Another respondent expressed strong concerns regarding fire authority liability for advice.

23 One respondent contended that giving power of decision to Ministers on what services can be charged for diminished local control and flexibility and should therefore be left with fire and rescue services.

CONCLUSIONS

24 The broad consensus supported the proposals. It was suggested however that this was a complex area and good central guidance and further consultation was required. We recognise the need for clear guidance and will issue good practice guides to accompany the Order. Should it be decided in the future to extend the powers of the service to charge there will be a further consultation.

CONSULTATION EXERCISE: FINAL REPORT

25 All responses received were carefully considered and will help inform our decisions regarding a Charging Order. Our comments on the suggestions put forward are outlined below.

Categories of service for which a charge is currently levied but omitted

26 Some suggestions were put forward for additional categories of service which should be included in the charging provisions ( see bullet list at paragraph 16). Our views are set out below.

27 It was suggested that Licensing Houses in Multiple Occupation should be included in the charging order but we believe that there is no need to include this as fire and rescue authority involvement is part of agreed Local Authority-led partnership arrangements. We would not anticipate any change to the current regime.

28 Permitting the Fire and Rescue Service to charge for call-outs resulting from reckless or careless use of fire alarm equipment was also suggested. We do not consider that this is appropriate as this matter should be dealt with more effectively in future by the arrangements set out in local Integrated Risk Managements Plans, introduced with effect from 1 April 2005.

29 It was also suggested that removing dangerous structures should not necessarily incur a charge. We consider that this is likely to form part of the core response and charging would therefore be inappropriate

Classes of person to be charged for each of the categories of service specified

30 The general view was that the classes of persons to be charged were appropriate ( see paragraph 17).

31 We accept and note the point that Fire and Rescue Service involvement in some non-emergency services in the listed categories could be provided by private contractors and that service involvement could be deemed as 'competitive practice'. This would be covered by good practice guidance to accompany the Order.

Do fire authorities have any other powers to charge or to trade in function related services?

32 There was a clear consensus that fire authorities do not have any other powers.

Distinction between the provision of free advice on fire safety arrangements and the charging for detailed advice or consultancy in respect of major projects.

33 The provision of advice on fire prevention, fire spread and means of escape in relation to buildings and properties when requested now forms part of a core duty to promote fire safety under section 8 of the Act. The good practice guidance to accompany the Order would add more detail.

Local Government

Convenors of fire boards
Firemasters
Chief Fire Officers Association ( CFOA)
Chief Executives of local authorities
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA)
Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Manager ( SOLACE)
Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) ( ACPOS)

Scottish Parliament

Justice 2 Committee
Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Liberal Democrats
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Scottish Nationalist Party
Scottish Socialist Party
Scottish Green Party
Scottish Senior Citizens' Unity Party
Dennis Canavan, MSP
Ms Jean Turner, MSP
Ms Margo MacDonald, MSP
Scottish Youth Parliament
Scottish Parliament's Information Centre

Other Government Departments/Organisations

Scottish Fire Services College
Health and Safety Executive
Scottish Environment Protection Agency ( SEPA)
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Scotland Office
National Assembly for Wales
Northern Ireland Executive
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ( ODPM)
Audit Scotland
Cairngorms National Park Authority

Trade Unions/Staff Associations

Fire Brigades Union ( FBU)
Scottish Trades Union Congress ( STUC)
Retained Firefighters Union ( RFU)
Fire Officers' Association
Association of Principal Fire Officers
UNISON

Professional Bodies/Trade Associations

Institution of Fire Engineers
Association of British Insurers
Emergency Planning Society
Forestry and Timber Association
World Fire Statistics Centre
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors ( RICS) in Scotland Building Control Forum
Scottish Association of Building Standards Managers

Equality and Diversity Groups

OUTRIGHT Scotland

Business Sector

Confederation of British Industry ( CBI)
Federation of Small Businesses
Forum of Private Businesses
Institute of Directors
Scottish Chambers of Commerce
Scottish Retail Consortium
Scottish Food and Drink Federation
Fire Industry Confederation
Mason Communications Ltd
Avecia
Firebreak Services Ltd
British Automatic Sprinkler Association Ltd
Chubb Fire Scotland
Gent Ltd
Kidde plc
Fire Investigation and Risk Management
Scotch Whisky Association
Emergi-Lite Safety Systems

Others

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations ( SCVO)
Volunteer Development Scotland
Scottish Civic Forum
Scottish Ambulance Service
Fire Protection Association
Fire Service Research and Training Trust
Fire Services National Benevolent Fund
Building Research Establishment
Arson Prevention Bureau
Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland

Local Government

East Ayrshire Council
Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service
Lothian and Borders Fire Board
Scottish Borders Council
North Lanarkshire Council
Grampian Fire Board
Dumfries & Galloway Fire Authority
Strathclyde Fire Board
Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) ( ACPOS)
Aberdeen City Council
South Lanarkshire Council
Angus Council
East Renfrewshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Council
West Lothian Council
Tayside Fire Board
Renfrewshire Council
Chief Fire Officers Association (Scotland)
Highland and Islands Fire Board
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA)
Fife Fire Authority
Stirling Council

Other Government Depts/Organisations

Health and Safety Executive

Trade Unions and Staff Associations

Fire Brigades Union Scotland

Professional Bodies/Trade Associations

Association of British Insurers

Business Sector

The Scotch Whisky Association
Fire Investigation & Risk Management
Chivas Brothers Limited
Federation of Small Businesses