Average fine per case
2006 to 2019 2006 to 2013 2014 to 2019
Post Grenfell (14/6/2017)
£10,520 £6,507
£20,375 £27,519
in fines is down to the combined impact of the new sentencing guidelines, the removal of the £5,000 fine limit and – of course – Grenfell. Perhaps surprisingly, the highest fine that
I am aware of is still the New Look case in 2010, which went to the Court of Appeal but was still held at £400,000.
Custodial sentences
I have been involved with 26 cases in which custodial sentences have been imposed, but only six of those cases have involved immediate custodial sentences – the rest have been suspended sentences. The longest sentence of imprisonment in a case I have been involved with is 20 months. This was a case in which there were repeated breaches of prohibition notices at a wedding venue which provided sleeping accommodation. A maximum sentence of imprisonment
of two years is provided by the FSO. As 95% of cases result in a guilty plea, a maximum of a one third reduction in sentence is usually applied (dependent upon the timing of the guilty plea). That would result in a 16 month sentence of imprisonment, but only in the most serious cases (those which would attract the maximum sentence), provided a guilty plea was entered at the earliest stage. The most serious cases would involve either
a fire, or the serious injury or death of a relevant person. One case, involving the owner of a hotel, resulted in an 18 month prison sentence, but that was after a trial, so no reduction in sentence was applied.
Increased costs
As time has passed, the amount of costs ordered has also increased. The average costs from 2006 to 2013 were £3,393, while the average costs over the last five years (2014 to 2019) were £9,171.48. Again, there
Average fine per charge
£1,403
Average costs
£4,291 £3,393 £9,171
£3,135 £9,110
could be a range of reasons for this increase. I believe that as the fire and rescue services (FRSs) have become more confident as prosecutors, they have taken on larger and more corporate defendants, thus leading to larger fines and larger costs orders. These costs do not just involve lawyers’
fees, but also the cost of the time of fire safety officers involved in bringing prosecution cases. It is good practice when sentencing to always ensure that the fine exceeds the costs of the case. Obviously, when magistrates were limited to £5,000 per charge (usually with one third off following a guilty plea), cost orders were proportionally reduced so that they did not exceed the fine.
Once the £5,000 limit was removed and
fines substantially increased, cost orders could increase proportionately. In addition, FRSs have been taking more complicated cases and prosecuting not only the responsible person under the FSO, but also persons with control under Article 5 (3). This has inevitably led to more costs being involved in the preparation of cases.
Conclusions
Therefore, fire safety cases are being taken more seriously by the courts, which has been reflected in increased fines and costs orders as time has passed since the FSO came into force. In addition, FRSs are taking on bigger, more complicated prosecutions and often larger corporate defendants with the means to pay large fines. Before Grenfell, I used to spend a large
proportion of my address to the court explaining what could happen as a result of the prosecuted breaches in the event of fire. I don’t have to do that any more
Warren Spencer is managing director and fire safety solicitor at Blackhurst Budd Solicitors. For more information, view page 5
www.frmjournal.com APRIL 2020 23
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