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Policy and legislative framework for the Fire and Rescue Service

The Fire and Rescue Service has undergone a period of unprecedented change with the introduction of new legislation to ensure that today's Service continues to meet the increasing expectations and demands of all our citizens and communities.

This area provides information and documentation relating to the development of the existing legislative framework.

The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 received Royal Assent in July 2004 and came in to force on 1 October 2004. The Act replaces the Fire Services Act 1947. It puts the prevention of fires at the heart of legislation by, for example, creating a new duty to promote fire safety and by providing the flexibility for fire and rescue authorities to work with others in the community to carry out this duty.

The Government's new fire target for England was set on 1 April 2005. The target is: by 2010, reduce the number of accidental fire-related deaths in the home by 20% and the number of deliberate fires by 10%.
The National Framework is a strategic plan outlining how this target and other objectives are to be delivered. It replaces the Fire and Rescue Service National Framework 2004/05.

The Milestone Map shows when DCLG's Fire and Rescue Service improvement-related projects and policy workstreams are currently forecasting delivery of significant milestones. Milestones have been defined as deliverables or events which are likely to impact directly on the FRS. DCLG will revise and update the milestone information each month to ensure current information is available.

The key objective for the Fire and Rescue Service Directorate at DCLG is to modernise the Fire and Rescue Service in England, in line with the June 2003 White Paper and the National Framework. We are striving to achieve a Service which:

  • is proactive in preventing fires and other risks, rather than only reacting to fires
  • acts in support of the Government's wider agenda of social inclusion, neighbourhood renewal and crime reduction
  • has effective institutions that support its role
  • is well-managed and effective
  • is committed to developing and adapting to changing circumstances, including the threat of terrorism and environmental disaster.

The key target for the Fire and Rescue Service Directorate is the delivery of our new Public Service Agreement target, PSA 3. This is:

  • to reduce the number of accidental fire-related deaths in the home by 20% by 31 March
  • to achieve a 10% reduction in deliberate fires by 31 March 2010

This includes a floor target that no fire and rescue authority has a fatality rate, from accidental fires in the home, more than 1.25 times the national average by 2010.

These pieces of legislation will be revoked on 1 April 2006.

As part of the Government's commitment to reduce death, injury and damage caused by fire, the Department of Communities and Local Government is reviewing fire safety law; and proposing to make a number of changes which are designed to make the law easier to understand and comply with. The proposed changes form the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO) and will apply to non-domestic premises only (i.e. not your own home) and come into force throughout England and Wales only (Scotland and Northern Ireland have devolved responsibility for fire safety law).

The information contained in this area will keep you up to date with the progress of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO), meanwhile it is important to remember that, until such time as the RRFSO becomes the new law, the current fire safety regulations must be complied with.

The Independent Review of the Fire Service (IRFS) report by Professor Sire George Bain can be viewed in sections via the above link to the IRFS website or in its entirety.

Working in the Fire and Rescue Service

This area covers a wide range of issues relating to working in the Fire and Rescue Service.

The FiReControl project is working to move from the existing system of 46 fire control rooms in England, based at local fire and rescue services, to a network of nine new amalgamated Regional Control Centres.

Fire Service Circulars

Fire statistics and research

Consultation Papers

Conference Speeches

This page was last updated on 24 January 2011
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