Moved by
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
14: After Clause 2, insert the following new Clause—
“Fire Safety Code of Practice
(1) The relevant authority must by regulations amend the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541) as follows.
(2) In Article 26(2) (Enforcement of Order), at the end insert “and any Code of Practice made pursuant to Article 50”.
(3) In Article 50 (Guidance)—
(a) in the title, at the beginning insert “Code of Practice and”;
(b) after Article 50(3) insert—
“(4) The Secretary of State must issue a Code of Practice with the aim of securing that—
(a) all fire risk assessments of higher-risk residential buildings necessary to comply with this Order are carried out as soon as practicable and before those which are lower-risk, and
(b) privately-owned and publicly-owned buildings are equally able to access the resources available to carry out such work.
(5) Before issuing a code under this Article the Secretary of State shall—
(a) publish proposals, and
(b) consult such persons as he or she thinks appropriate.
(6) Before issuing a code under this Article the Secretary of State shall lay a draft of the code before Parliament.
(7) Where a draft is laid before Parliament under Article 50(6), if it is approved by both Houses of Parliament—
(a) the Secretary of State may issue the code in the form of the draft, and
(b) it shall come into force in accordance with provision made by the Secretary of State by order.
(8) A failure to comply with a provision of a code shall not of itself make a person liable to criminal or civil proceedings; but a code—
(a) shall be admissible in evidence in criminal or civil proceedings, and
(b) shall be taken into account by a court or tribunal in any case in which it appears to the court or tribunal to be relevant.
(9) The Secretary of State may amend any code of practice issued pursuant to this Article by publishing proposals for the amendment of the code and consulting on those proposals and seeking the approval of Parliament in the same way as for the first code, but a code issued under this Article shall continue in force until it is amended.””
Member’s explanatory statement
This amendment, and the others in Lord Porter's name, would require the Government to introduce guidance in the form of an approved code of practice, before commencing the Bill. The approved code of practice must seek to ensure that the limited resources available to carry out the reviews of fire risk assessments required by the Bill are allocated between buildings on the basis of risk.