and in particular at prosecutions. The annual figures for prosecutions taken during the year ending March 2019 were published in October 2019, but also of interest are the results of audits and inspections carried out by her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which have now been completed and published for 2019. We have examined those findings, but
only in relation to enforcement, and more specifically the question: ‘How effective is the FRS at protecting the public through the regulation of fire safety?’
Wide disparity
As can be seen from the table on page 25, there is a wide disparity even across the top 20 FRSs when considering the number of prosecutions taken between 2006 and 2019. The national statistics, which began being recorded in March 2009, show that there were 669 prosecutions taken by English fire authorities over the ten years until March 2019. In an attempt to complete the figures,
by way of freedom of information requests, we asked all English FRSs how many prosecutions they had taken between 1 October 2006 (when the FSO came into force) and March 2009. Only a handful of FRSs did not respond, and they tended to be those who had taken very few prosecutions. Our enquiries revealed that approximately 75 prosecutions were taken between those dates, making a total of 744 from 2006 to 2019. Significantly, the five FRSs responsible for the
most prosecutions account for almost 50% of all cases taken across the country since the FSO came into effect. There may be a number of reasons for these FRSs bringing the most prosecutions. The most obvious reason is that – given their sheer size and the urban areas that they cover – there are naturally more premises, with potentially more breaches, resulting in more prosecutions. However, the most likely reason for the difference in number
26 JUNE 2020
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FSO in focus F
OR THE next part of our study, we looked at the role of fire and rescue services (FRSs) in relation to the enforcement of the FSO,
Continuing his study of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 [FSO], Warren Spencer analyses the fire and rescue services’ enforcement since 2006
of prosecutions is the issue of funding, and some smaller FRSs may argue that they do not receive the same level of state funding as the larger authorities – therefore they simply do not have the capacity or resources to carry out as many prosecutions.
Costly process
Prosecutions are an expensive and time consuming process. A typical prosecution lasts approximately 12 to 18 months, and the average cost (taken from our own 200 cases) is £5,661. Therefore, some FRSs may take the approach that they would prefer to pursue other policies in order to bring about compliance. There is no doubt that the austerity-led budget cuts over the last eight years have had a significant impact upon FRSs. Whether there are socio economic or cultural
reasons for non compliance in particular areas is not clear. Such investigations would be highly sensitive and potentially divisive, but my experience is that cultural attitudes towards fire safety do impact upon prosecution rates in particular areas of the country. However, I only have my own statistics to support this contention. According to the government statistics, there
are three FRSs that have not carried out any prosecutions under the FSO since its inception. The 20 authorities responsible for the lowest amount of prosecutions account for only 63 cases when combined. We have noted from our own cases, however, that there are irregularities and errors in the government statistics, and it may well be that these FRSs have indeed
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