Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Government's fire safety in the workplace guidance; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating this guidance.

Article 50 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) places a legal duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that such guidance, as she considers appropriate, is available to assist Responsible Persons in the discharge of the duties imposed on them by articles 8 to 22, and by regulations made under article 24, of the FSO.

The Home Office publishes a suite of guidance to meet this requirement and support Responsible Persons in meeting their duties under the FSO. This includes specific guidance on fire safety in the workplace. Work is underway to update the original suite of 12 guides published by the Home Office to ensure they reflect current legal requirements, standards, technical innovations and industry best practice.

Over the last 3 years, we have published 10 new or revised guides, and work is progressing well to revise the original suite (which includes workplace fire safety guidance), with publication expected over the next 2 years.