Transcript PA & Fire Safety - Primary Authority Register

PRIMARY AUTHORITY
& FIRE SAFETY
Operating as an ‘enforcing authority’
Updated March 2015
CONTENT
• When and how does Primary Authority affect how you
do your job?
• What is Primary Authority?
 Inspection plans
 Primary Authority Advice
 Notifications of enforcement action
 The Primary Authority Register
• How is it working in practice?
WHEN DO YOU NEED TO
THINK ABOUT PRIMARY
AUTHORITY?
FOUR KEY STAGES
1. When you are planning or
programming proactive visits, such
as inspections, other checks on
business compliance or advisory
visits
2. When you are carrying out
proactive visits
3. When you receive a complaint or
enquiry about a business
4. When you are considering how to
deal with non-compliance by a
business
FOUR KEY QUESTIONS
1. Is the business in Primary Authority?
 Check the Primary Authority Register
IF SO,
2. What must I do to comply with the law?
3. How can the primary authority help me to do what I
need to do more efficiently and effectively?
4. How can I support the primary authority in ensuring
the business is regulated effectively?
PRIMARY AUTHORITY REGISTER
•
•
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A secure database holding details of all nominated
partnerships
Can be accessed only by registered users
Available to:
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•
local authority officers regulating businesses
national regulators
businesses in direct partnerships
co-ordinators
New users can be set up by any officer registered
as an ‘Administrator’
Operated by BRDO
WHAT IS PRIMARY
AUTHORITY?
STATUTORY BASIS OF THE SCHEME
• A statutory scheme established by the Regulatory
Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 (‘RES Act’)
• The scheme provides for a partnership between a
business and a single local authority - its ‘primary
authority’, in a specified area of regulation
• Partnerships are formed through nomination by the
Secretary of State
• A primary authority is entitled to recover its costs
for providing primary authority services
• The Act creates a number of statutory duties for
‘enforcing authorities’
KEY ASPECTS OF PRIMARY AUTHORITY
• About regulation by ‘local authorities’, in specified
regulatory areas
• The primary authority provides advice and guidance
which is assured through a statutory mechanism
• The primary authority can guide local checks on the
business, for example by publishing an inspection plan
• The primary authority shares information and
intelligence, guiding consistent and proportionate
regulation
• A primary authority is entitled to recover its costs from a
partner business
PRIMARY AUTHORITY SCOPE
• Regulatory scope is defined
under section 4 and schedule 3
of the RES Act
• Fire safety regulation was
excluded by Order when the
scheme first came in (2009) but
brought into scope in 2014
• List of Primary Authority
Categories
• Devolution – limited scope in
Scotland and Northern Ireland
BUSINESS ELIGIBILITY (1)
• A business regulated by more than one fire and rescue
authority
 Premises in multiple local authority areas eg. retail chains,
hotel, restaurant and pub chains
• Described in the statutory guidance as a ‘direct
partnership’
DIRECT PARTNERSHIPS
Enforcing
Authority
Enforcing
Authority
Business
Enforcing
Authority
Primary
Authority
Nominated
partnership
BUSINESS ELIGIBILITY (2)
• A business that is part of a group of businesses collectively
regulated by more than one fire and rescue authority, where
these businesses ‘share an approach to compliance’:
 Members of a trade association that provides regulatory
guidance on which the businesses rely;
 Franchisees following compliance controls specified by the
franchisor;
 A group of related companies following the same compliance
controls.
• Described in the statutory guidance as a ‘co-ordinated
partnership’
CO-ORDINATED PARTNERSHIPS
Business 1
Shared
approach
to
compliance
Nominated
partnerships
Business 2
Co-ordinator
Business 3
Business 4
Primary
Authority
FEATURES OF PRIMARY AUTHORITY
• The scheme encourages a flow of information, and the
use of that information
 to drive improvements in compliance
 to target enforcement resources where they are most
needed
 to inform consistent and proportionate responses to noncompliance
• The primary authority has three statutory ‘tools’ it can use:
 An inspection plan
 Primary Authority Advice to the business
 Primary Authority Advice to Local Authorities
• Primary Authority Advice is underpinned by the statutory
requirement for notifications of proposed enforcement
action
INSPECTION PLANS
• A primary authority is able to produce an inspection plan
– to guide enforcing authorities
– to enable the primary authority to build a detailed picture of
where the business is getting it right and where there are
problems
• Can address programmed, planned or proactive
interventions
• Can’t make requirements in respect of reactive
interventions in relation to matters of specific concern
about the business
• Only apply to fire safety visits under the FSO
INSPECTION PLAN PROCESS
• Developed by the primary authority, in consultation
with the business(es)
• Must meet the requirements of the statutory guidance
• Takes effect only when it is consented to by the
Secretary of State and published via the Primary
Authority Register
NATURE OF INSPECTION PLANS
• Setting out requirements that enforcing authorities must
follow
– National inspection strategy co-ordinated by the primary
authority
– Activities not to be undertaken locally
– Policies/ procedures not to be reviewed
– Targeting local inspection activity
• Providing information to assist enforcing authorities
• Gather feedback
INSPECTION PLANS – STATUTORY DUTIES
•
An enforcing authority must follow any requirements
of a published inspection plan when:
 planning proactive work; and
 carrying out proactive interventions
• The enforcing authority can request agreement from
the primary authority to an alternative approach
• The request should be submitted via the Primary
Authority Register, setting out the alternative approach
and the reasons for it
• Where an inspection plan requires feedback, this
must be provided
PRIMARY AUTHORITY ADVICE
• Primary Authority Advice can be
issued by the primary authority to:
 a business ie. advice on
compliance
 to local authorities ie. advice on
how to exercise their regulatory
function in relation to the business
• Primary Authority Advice is issued
 directly to the business, in the case of a ‘direct partnership’
 via the co-ordinator, in the case of ‘co-ordinated partnerships’
PRIMARY AUTHORITY ADVICE
• Primary Authority Advice to a business may:
 address questions of interpretation or applicability of the
law
 address the suitability of a business’ control systems eg.
procedures that set out the precautions that a business will
take to avoid breaches
• Primary Authority Advice is described as providing
‘assurance’ to the business because a primary authority
is able to direct against enforcement action proposed by
the enforcing authority that would be inconsistent with
the advice
THE NOTIFICATION PROCESS (1)
• The legislation requires enforcing authorities to notify
all enforcement action to the primary authority. This is
done via the Primary Authority Register
• Notification is usually required prior to taking the action
• In limited, specified circumstances notification may be
retrospective
– specified notices
– action that is urgently required to avoid a significant risk
of harm...
– where notification prior to taking the action would be
wholly disproportionate
THE NOTIFICATION PROCESS (2)
• Notification of proposed action provides the primary
authority with an opportunity to consider the
enforcement action, and to direct against it where it
is inconsistent with Primary Authority Advice given
• Where the primary authority doesn’t direct against
the proposed enforcement action, the enforcing
authority, if it wishes to proceed, must first notify the
business via the Primary Authority Register
STATUTORY DETERMINATION PROCESS
•
Only applies once proposed enforcement action is
notified
•
Referrals to determination can only be made with
consent from the Secretary of State
•
Referral is a measure of last resort where there is
disagreement as to whether Primary Authority Advice:
– was ‘correct’
– was ‘properly given’
– is ‘inconsistent’ with proposed enforcement action
•
Application to Secretary of State may be made by any of
the 3 parties, in specified circumstances
HOW IS PRIMARY AUTHORITY
WORKING IN PRACTICE?
UPDATE (as at 1st March 2015)
• Over 2400 businesses in partnerships
• 145 businesses in fire safety partnerships
• 150 local authorities providing partnerships
(including 18 fire and rescue authorities)
• A variety of business sizes, from micro businesses
to multi-national manufacturers and retailers
• A wide range of business types and sectors
EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE
• Helping businesses to comply and grow
• Providing assurance
• Reducing compliance costs
• Reducing ‘gold plating’
• Using feedback from enforcing authorities
• Sharing specialist knowledge
KEY MESSAGES TO TAKE AWAY
• Primary Authority is there to help local regulators to do
their job
• Primary Authority is statutory – you, as an officer of
the enforcing authority, will have to meet the
requirements of the scheme when dealing with
businesses that have a primary authority for fire safety
•
The Primary Authority Register holds all of the
information you need, so use it – if you aren’t
registered yet then make sure you do register
FURTHER INFORMATION
BRDO operates the scheme and provides information and
training
Website: www.primaryauthorityregister.info
Email:
[email protected]
Tel:
0121 345 1201
Resources for fire authorities:
(https://primaryauthorityregister.info/par/index.php/backgrou
nd/fire-safety)
Follow @BRDOregulation on Twitter
or join our LinkedIn groups:
Better Regulation and Primary Authority Network