England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

a fire authority or fire and rescue authority is a

statutory A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

body made up of a committee of local councillors which oversees the policy and service delivery of a fire and rescue service.Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, Part One (accessed 19 Feb 07)
/ref> Prior to the Fire Services Act 2004 many fire and rescue authorities were known as fire and civil defence authorities; this designation is no longer used. A combined fire authority (CFA) is one created by a statutory instrument to cover more than one

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

area. Usually each of the constituent local authorities appoints a fixed number of members of the CFA, depending on their relative populations.

Constitution

A fire authority is made up of either councillors, officers or representatives from the local principal councils in the geographical area that the fire service operates. In the case of the

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) was a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA) from 2000 to 2018. It was established with the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It replaced the ...

, there is an additional layer of governance above in the form of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

. The responsible central government department in England is the

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 ...

, previously the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

had responsibility until April 1, 2025. Responsibility for Fire and Rescue Services in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Government.

Role of a fire authority

In simple terms a local fire authority is a supervisory body which ensures that a local fire service performs efficiently and in the best interest of the public and community it serves. It means therefore that the fire service is answerable for its actions and performance to the general public. One of its main functions is to collect funding from each local council via a ''precept'' - a portion of council tax allocated to the FRS.

Powers of a fire authority

Although a fire safety officer is an employee of the fire service and is authorised and answerable to the

Chief Fire Officer Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer or county fire officer, is the highest rank in the fire and rescue services of the United Kingdom. There are currently 50 chief fire officers serving in the United Kingdom in charge of t ...

to exercise powers of inspection, any enforcement or prosecution action taken against organisations by the fire service is brought in the name of the fire authority, under the

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (SI 2005/1541) is a statutory instrument applicable in England and Wales. The Order places the responsibility on individuals within an organisation to carry out risk assessments to identify, manage ...

. The fire service's powers of entry and other operational roles are defined by the

Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (c. 21), sometimes abbreviated as FRSA 2004, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It came into effect on 1 October 2004. It only applies to Great Britain and most provisions apply only in Eng ...

This act provides the legal basis for fire authorities to carry out community rather than legislative fire safety functions. There are many specific acts of parliament which deal with fire safety, inspection and enforcement; in October 2006 (later than anticipated), many outdated acts were repealed, and placed under the umbrella of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 1541, The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, Pub: The Stationery Office, Crown copyright (accessed 15 Feb 07)
/ref> * ''Comprehensive list of recent UK fire and rescue service legislation:'

* Fire service in the UK#Fire service funding, More detailed information on fire authority funding

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Authority Fire and rescue service organisation in the United Kingdom Local government services in the United Kingdom England and Wales

Constitution

Role of a fire authority

Powers of a fire authority

See also

References