Enforcing authorities

25. For the purposes of this Order, “enforcing authority” means—

(a)the fire and rescue authority for the area in which premises are, or are to be, situated, in any case not falling within any of sub-paragraphs (b) to (e);

(b)the Health and Safety Executive in relation to—

(i)any premises for which a licence is required in accordance with section 1 of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965(1) or for which a permit is required in accordance with section 2 of that Act;

(ii)any premises which would, except for the fact that it is used by, or on behalf of, the Crown, be required to have a licence or permit in accordance with the provisions referred to in sub-paragraph (i);

(iii)a ship, including a ship belonging to Her Majesty which forms part of Her Majesty’s Navy, which is in the course of construction, reconstruction or conversion or repair by persons who include persons other than the master and crew of the ship;

(iv)any workplace which is or is on a construction site within the meaning of regulation 2(1) of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996(2) and to which those Regulations apply, other than construction sites referred to in regulation 33 of those Regulations.

(c)the fire service maintained by the Secretary of State for Defence in relation to—

(i)premises, other than premises falling within paragraph (b)(iii), occupied solely for the purposes of the armed forces of the Crown;

(ii)premises occupied solely by any visiting force or an international headquarters or defence organisation designated for the purposes of the International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964(3);

(iii)premises, other than premises falling within paragraph (b)(iii), which are situated within premises occupied solely for the purposes of the armed forces of the Crown but which are not themselves so occupied;

(d)the relevant local authority in relation to premises which consist of—

(i)a sports ground designated as requiring a safety certificate under section 1 of the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975(4) (safety certificates for large sports stadia);

(ii)a regulated stand within the meaning of section 26(5) of the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987(5) (safety certificates for stands at sports grounds);

(e)a fire inspector, or any person authorised by the Secretary of State to act for the purposes of this Order, in relation to—

(i)premises owned or occupied by the Crown, other than premises falling within paragraph (b)(ii) and (c));

(ii)premises in relation to which the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is the responsible person, other than premises falling within paragraph (b)(ii)).

 

What the Guidance says:

 

The main enforcing authority for the Order will normally be the local Fire and Rescue
Authority. However there are some special areas where others have been appointed as
the enforcing authority. These are listed in detail in article 25 of the Order. In summary,
they are: the Health and Safety Executive; the fire service maintained by the Secretary
of State for Defence; the local authority with responsibility for issue of safety certifi
catesfor certain sports grounds; and Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Fire Services or other
person or body authorised by the Secretary of State for Crown-owned and or occupied
premises generally.
At sports grounds designated under the provisions of section 1 of the Safety of Sports
Grounds Acts 1975 and for regulated stands within the meaning of section 26(5) of
the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987 the enforcing authority will be
the local authority responsible for the issue of the safety certificate under those Acts.
Where a sports ground contains a regulated stand, the local authority is the enforcing
authority only for the stand and the Fire and Rescue Authority is the enforcing authority
for the rest of the sports ground. In many cases, the local authority is the same as
the Fire and Rescue Authority, so there is only one enforcing authority.However,
where they are not, it is good practice to consider having one authority responsible
for the whole ground. This is a pragmatic solution, in line with the Taylor Report into
the Hillsborough Disaster, which recommended that there should be one enforcing
authority for sports grounds. Where a local authority receives an application for a safety
certificate under either sports ground legislation cited above, they are legally obliged to
consult the Fire and Rescue Authorities. The creation of Safety Advisory Groups (SAG)
was another recommendation of the Taylor Report and whilst they are not statutory
bodies, they have become accepted practice for managing safety at all sports grounds.
Fire and Rescue Authorities are members of SAGs and should provide professional
advice based on experience and implementing the legislative framework for fire safety.
For the avoidance of doubt all civilian prisons, young offenders institutions, immigration
detention, holding or removal centres, court custody suites, customs and excise
detention areas are the responsibility of the Fire Inspectors of the Crown Premises
Inspection Group regardless of whether they are operated by the relevant Government
department or contracted out. Local Authority Police Constabulary premises are the
responsibility of the Fire and Rescue Authority for the area where they are located.