The Fire and Rescue Authorities (National Framework) (England) Order 2012

Made: 13th July 2012

Laid before Parliament: 19th July 2012

Coming into force: 17th August 2012

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 21(6) of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004[^f00001] and after having consulted in accordance with section 21(5) of that Act.

Citation, commencement and application

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Fire and Rescue Authorities (National Framework) (England) Order 2012 and shall come into force on 17th August 2012.

• (2) This Order shall apply in relation to fire and rescue authorities in England only.

The Fire and Rescue National Framework

2

The Fire and Rescue National Framework prepared by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and entitled “The Fire and Rescue National Framework for England” which was published by the Department for Communities and Local Government on 11th July 2012 shall have effect as a revision, which appears to the Secretary of State to be significant, of the Fire and Rescue National Framework 2008/11[^f00002].

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Bob Neill — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Department for Communities and Local Government — 13th July 2012

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 21 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 requires the Secretary of State to prepare a Fire and Rescue National Framework for fire and rescue authorities in England. Fire and rescue authorities must have regard to the Framework in carrying out their functions.

Article 2 of this Order, which applies in relation to fire and rescue authorities in England only, substitutes the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England (“the Framework”) for the 2008/11 Framework.

The principal differences are that the Framework:

• (1) requires fire and rescue authorities to work with their communities to identify and protect them from all foreseeable risk and to prevent incidents from occurring;

• (2) requires greater transparency, accountability and community involvement in the production of integrated risk management plans;

• (3) requires fire and rescue authorities to collaborate with other fire and rescue authorities, other emergency services, wider Category 1 and 2 responders[^f00003] and Local Resilience Forums[^f00004] to ensure interoperability;

• (4) requires fire and rescue authorities and the Government to work together through the Fire and Rescue Strategic Resilience Board[^f00005] to support discussions and decision making in relation to national resilience;

• (5) gives greater priority to fire and rescue authorities working collectively and in partnership with their community and a wide range of partners locally and nationally;

• (6) requires fire and rescue authorities to have arrangements in place to ensure that their decisions are open to scrutiny;

• (7) requires fire and rescue authorities to make their communities aware of how they can access data and information on their performance;

• (8) requires fires and rescue authorities to provide assurance on financial, governance and operational matters through an annual statement of assurance; and

• (9) has an open ended duration.

Copies of the Framework may be obtained on the Department for Communities and Local Government website: http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/nationalframework/.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the public, private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2004 c.21.

[^f00002]: The Fire and Rescue National Framework 2008/11 took effect as a significant revision of the Fire and Rescue National Framework 2006/08 by virtue of S.I. 2008/1370.

[^f00003]: See Schedule 1 to the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (2004 c. 36).

[^f00004]: See regulation 4(4)(b) of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2042), as substituted by regulation 4 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/624).

[^f00005]: See paragraphs 1.27 – 1.28 of the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England.