PART 4: EMPLOYMENT

Negotiating bodies

Section 32 Negotiating bodies

57.     Section 32 provides the Secretary of State with reserve powers to establish negotiating machinery for the Fire and Rescue Service. The powers allow the Secretary of State to determine the number, composition and chair of the negotiating bodies following consultation.

58.     Subsection (2) requires that a statutory body includes employers and employee representative bodies and an independent chairman. No member or employee of a fire and rescue authority, employee representative body, civil service or a Minister may serve as the chairman.

59.     Should any negotiating body be set up under these powers, subsections (4) and (5) would prevent the body being undermined by negotiations being held in another forum. Subsections (5) to (8) however would allow the statutory body to make arrangements for certain conditions of service to be negotiated locally (either in their entirety or within nationally agreed parameters).

Section 33: Guidance

60.     Section 33 allows the Secretary of State to issue guidance to negotiating bodies. Any negotiating body, whether established voluntarily or under section 32, would be required to have regard to the guidance issued to them.

Pensions etc.

Section 34: Pensions etc.

61.     This section re-enacts existing powers in section 26 of the Fire Services Act 1947. It will enable more than one pension scheme to operate at any one time. This section also allows a range of financial arrangements for funding these schemes.

Section 35: Information in connection with pensions etc.

62.     This section re-enacts provisions in the Fire Services Act 1947 which enable the Secretary of State to prescribe the circumstances in which a fire and rescue authority or a Scottish fire authority may provide information to a person who has opted or transferred out of any pension scheme for fire-fighters. It also re-enacts the existing provisions about charging for administrative expenses.

Section 36: Preservation of existing pension scheme

63.     Pension arrangements for fire-fighters are currently provided by the Firemen's Pension Scheme Order 1992 (S.I. 1992/129 as amended) made under section 26 of the Fire Services Act 1947. The purpose of section 36 is to ensure that the scheme can continue in operation despite the repeal of the 1947 Act and to enable the 1992 Order to be modified.

Supplementary

Section 37: Prohibition on employment of police

64.     This section re-enacts section 32 of the Fire Services Act 1947 and provides that no member of a police force (i.e. a police constable) may be employed as a fire-fighter. If an off-duty police officer were employed by a fire and rescue authority, for example as a retained (part-time) fire-fighter, difficulties might arise at the scene of a fire or other emergency due to confusion over which employer had the primary claim on the officer's services.

PART 5: WATER SUPPLY

Section 38: Duty to secure water supply etc.

65.     Subsection (1) re-enacts section 13 of the Fire Services Act 1947, requiring fire and rescue authorities to take all reasonable measures to ensure the adequate supply of water for use in the event of fire.

66.     Subsection (2) allows an authority to use any suitable supply of water, whether provided by a water undertaker or any other person. Whilst it provides for payment of reasonable compensation for the water, this is limited by reference to section 147 of the Water Industry Act 1991, which expressly forbids charging by a water undertaker in respect of: water taken for the purpose of extinguishing fires or for any other emergency purposes; water taken for testing apparatus used for extinguishing fires; or for fire-fighting training. This subsection re-enacts section 15(1) of the 1947 Act.

Section 39: Supply of water by water undertakers

67.     This section re-enacts section 14(1) and (4) of the Fire Services Act 1947 Act and allows a fire and rescue authority to enter into an agreement with a water undertaker for the supply of water (as covered by section 37). Subsection (2) allows for any agreement to include terms for payment, other than for the purposes covered by section 147 of the Water Industry Act 1991.

68.     Subsection (4) makes any obligation of a water undertaker, under an agreement, enforceable by the Secretary of State under section 18 of the Water Industry Act 1991. This gives the Secretary of State power to make an enforcement order to secure compliance with any statutory or other requirement.

Section 40: Emergency supply by water undertaker

69.     This section re-enacts sections 30(4) and 30(4)(a) of the Fire Services Act 1947. Subsection (1) places an obligation on a water undertaker to take all necessary steps to increase supply and pressure of water for the purpose of extinguishing a fire, if requested to do so by a fire and rescue authority. Subsection (2) allows a water undertaker to shut off water from the mains and pipes in any area to enable it to comply with a request to increase supply and water pressure. Subsection (3) safeguards the fire and rescue authority or any person from any liability for anything done by a water undertaker in complying with its obligations. Subsections (4) and (5) make it an offence for a water undertaker, without reasonable excuse, to fail to take any steps which it is obliged to take and provides for a level 5 fine (currently £5,000) on summary conviction.

Section 41: Supply by other persons

70.     This section re-enacts section 15(1) of the Fire Services Act 1947 and allows a fire and rescue authority to enter into agreements with persons other than water undertakers in order to secure the use of water; to improve access to water; or to lay and maintain pipes and to carry out other works in connection with the use of water.

Section 42: Fire hydrants

71.     Access to the water supply is by connection to a fire hydrant. Hydrants may be fitted by a water undertaker at the request of a fire and rescue authority. Section 41(1) requires a water undertaker to mark the location of every fire hydrant with a notice or distinguishing mark and under subsection (3) the costs of doing this can be charged to the fire and rescue authority in whose area the hydrant is situated. This re-enacts provisions in section 14(3) of the Fire Services Act 1947.

72.     Subsection (4) enables the Secretary of State to make regulations providing for uniformity in fire hydrants and the distinguishing notices and marks indicating their location. This re-enacts section 14(6) of the 1947 Act.

73.     Subsection (5) makes any obligation of a water undertaker under subsection (1) and (4) enforceable by the Secretary of State under section 18 of the Water Industry Act 1991, which gives the Secretary of State power to make an enforcement order to secure compliance with any statutory or other requirement. This re-enacts section 14(4) of the 1947 Act.

74.     Subsection (6) makes it an offence for any person to use a fire hydrant other than for the purpose of fire-fighting or any other purpose of a fire and rescue authority; or other than for any purpose authorised by the water undertaker or other person to whom the hydrant belongs.

75.     Subsection (7) makes it an offence to damage or obstruct a fire hydrant. Under subsection (8) a person guilty of an offence under subsection (6) and (7) is liable on summary conviction to a level 2 fine. Subsections (6), (7) and (8) re-enact section 14(5) of the 1947 Act.

Section 43: Notice of works affecting water supply and fire hydrants

76.     This section re-enacts section 16(1) to (3) of the Fire Services Act 1947 and requires any person who proposes to carry out any works for the purpose of supplying water to any part of the area of a fire and rescue authority to give at least six weeks' written notice to the authority. A person proposing to carry out any works affecting a fire hydrant is required to give at least seven days' notice in writing.

77.     Under subsection (3), if it is not practicable for written notice to be given, the person is regarded as having given such notice if he gives it as soon as practicable. It is an offence under subsection (4) if, without reasonable excuse, a person fails to give notice as required. Under subsection (5) a person is liable on summary conviction to a level 5 fine.

PART 6: SUPPLEMENTARY

Powers in the event of emergency

Section 44: Powers of fire-fighters etc in an emergency

78.     This provision provides individual authorised employees of a fire and rescue authority with the powers to deal with fires (which have either broken out or situations where a fire fighter reasonably believes a fire is about to break out), road traffic accidents and other emergencies. It replaces section 30(1) of the Fire Services Act 1947 which was limited to dealing with extinguishing, or preventing the spread of, fires and recognises the wider range of duties of fire-fighters including the work which fire and rescue authorities do in responding to road traffic accidents.

Powers of entry

Section 45: Obtaining information and investigating fires

79.     This section allows an authorised employee of a fire and rescue authority to enter premises to obtain information that is needed for the discharge of the core functions of fire fighting (section 7), dealing with road traffic accidents (section 8) and specified emergencies (section 9). In the case of premises where a fire has occurred, the section also allows an authorised employee to gain entry in order to investigate the cause and progression of the fire that has occurred there. Such entry cannot be forcible and 24 hours notice must be given to the occupier of a private dwelling, unless authorised by a justice of the peace.

Section 46: Supplementary powers

80.     Section 46 sets out the powers and the obligations of an employee of a fire and rescue authority who has entered premises under section 45 to gain information or investigate the cause and progression of a fire. The powers and obligations are similar to those applicable to investigations under health and safety legislation.

Section 47: Notices: general

81.     Section 47 provides for the service of notices under section 45. It is similar to service provisions under fire safety and health and safety law.

Section 48: Notices given electronically

82.      Section 48 provides for the electronic service of notices where the recipient agrees to this.

False alarms

Section 49: False alarms of fire

83.     Section 49 re-enacts section 31 of the Fire Services Act 1947. This section provides that a person who knowingly gives or causes someone else to give a false alarm of fire to a person acting on behalf of a fire and rescue authority is liable to a maximum level 4 fine, prison sentence of 51 weeks, or both.

Consequential provision

Section 51: Abolition of Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council

84.     Section 51 abolishes the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, which was established under section 29 of the Fire Services Act 1947 to provide general advice to the Secretary of State on matters relating to the operation of that Act. The Council also served as statutory consultee prior to the exercise by the Secretary of State of certain of his regulation-making powers under the 1947 Act (for example with regard to pensions). Where such regulation-making powers are re-enacted elsewhere in the Act, the Secretary of State will be under a duty to consult with such persons he considers appropriate.

PART 7: GENERAL

Sections 62 and 63: Wales/Extent

85.     The Act generally applies to England and Wales only. However, as pension policy is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998, the provisions regarding pensions in Part 4 and various consequential provisions also extend to Scotland.

86.     In its application to Wales, the Act gives the National Assembly for Wales the powers of the Secretary of State as set out in sections 2 to 4, 9, 10, 14, 17, 19, 21 to 23, 26 to 34, 36, 42, 50, 53, 60 and 61.

87.     The provision for the National Assembly to prepare, following consultation, a National Framework for the Fire and Rescue Service in Wales will be brought into effect by order subject to the usual Assembly arrangements for statutory instruments. Rather than a requirement to report to Parliament on the Framework, as is the case in England (under section 25), the Assembly is required to "publish a report".

COMMENCEMENT

88.     Section 61 contains provisions relating to the coming into force of the Act. Sections 55-64 came into force on Royal Assent. The remaining provisions come into force on such dates as the Secretary of State or the National Assembly for Wales by order appoint.

HANSARD REFERENCES

The following table sets out the dates and Hansard references for each stage of this Act's passage through Parliament.

Royal Assent - 22 July 2004 House of Commons Vol. 424 Col 514

House of Lords Vol. 664 Col 333