The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
As of 2023, emergency cover is provided by 49 fire and rescue services (FRS) in the UK. The older terms of fire brigade and fire service survive in informal usage and in the names of a few organisations. England and Wales have local fire services which are each overseen by a fire authority, which is made up of representatives of local governments. Fire authorities have the power to raise a Council Tax levy for funding, with the remainder coming from the government. Scotland and Northern Ireland have centralised fire services, and so their authorities are effectively committees of the devolved parliaments. The total budget for fire services in 2014-15 was £2.9 billion.
Central government maintains national standards and a body of independent advisers through the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, which was created in 2007, while His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services provides direct oversight. The devolved government in Scotland has a similar agency, HMFSI Scotland.
Firefighters in the United Kingdom are allowed to join unions, the main one being the Fire Brigades Union, while chief fire officers (the heads of the various FRS) are members of the National Fire Chiefs Council (formerly the Chief Fire Officers Association), which has some role in national co-ordination.
The fire services have undergone significant changes since the beginning of the 21st century, a process that has been propelled by a devolution of central government powers, new legislation and a change to operational procedures in the light of terrorism attacks and threats.
History
Legislative framework See separate article History of fire safety legislation in the United Kingdom Comprehensive list of recent UK fire and rescue service legislation: Matching Legislation - Statute Law Database
Legislation (United Kingdom, Great Britain or England and Wales) Fire services are established and granted their powers under fairly new legislation which has replaced a number of acts of Parliament dating back more than 60 years, but is still undergoing change; a rough timeline can be seen below.
1938: Fire Brigades Act 1938 (1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. 72). This act (which is no longer in force) provided for centralised co-ordination of fire brigades in Great Britain and made it mandatory for local authorities to arrange an effective fire service. 1947: Fire Services Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 41) This act transferred the functions of the National Fire Service to local authorities. Now repealed entirely in England and Wales by schedule 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. 1959: Fire Services Act 1959 (7 & 8 Eliz. 2. c. 44) This act amended the 1947 act; it dealt with pensions, staffing arrangements and provision of services by other authorities. It was repealed in England and Wales along with the 1947 act. 1999: Greater London Authority Act 1999 This act was necessary to allow for the formation of the Greater London Authority and in turn the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.
In 2002, there was a series of national fire strikes, with much of the discontent caused by the aforementioned report into the fire service conducted by Sir George Bain. In December 2002, the Independent Review of the Fire Service was published with the industrial action still ongoing; it made radical proposals to how the fire service should be organised and managed. Bain's report ultimately led to a change in the laws relating to firefighting.
2002: Independent Review of the Fire Service publishedFRS Online (accessed 02 Sep 07) links to full report PDF: Independent Review of the Fire Service pub Dec 2002 2004: Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, generally only applying to England and Wales. 2006: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 This piece of secondary legislation or statutory instrument replaces several other acts that dealt with fire precautions and fire safety in premises, including the now defunct process of issuing fire certificates. It came into force on 1 October 2006. The DfCLG has published a set of guides for non-domestic premises:Fire safety law and guidance documents for business 2006: The Government of Wales Act 2006 gave the National Assembly for Wales powers to pass laws on "Fire and rescue services. [and] Promotion of fire safety otherwise than by prohibition or regulation." but does not prevent future legislation being passed by the UK government which applies to two or more constituent countries. 2022: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 were introduced, which implement most of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations. The law came in force from 23 January 2023, and form part of a package of fire safety measures that the UK government delivered following the Grenfell Tower fire to protect the public from potential fire hazards.
There are further plans to modernise the fire service according to the Local Government Association. Its website outlines future changes, and specific projects:
Select committee The fire service in England and Wales is scrutinised by a select committee of the House of Commons. In June 2006, the fire and rescue service select committee, under the auspices of the Communities and Local Government Committee, published its latest report.
The committee's brief is:
The committee's report, and the subsequent government response in September 2006, are important as they outlined progress on the FiReControl, efforts to address diversity and the planned closure of HMFSI in 2007 among many issues.
Both documents are interesting as they refer back to Professor Bain's report and the many recommendations it made and continue to put forward the notion that there is an ongoing need to modernise FRSs. For example, where FRSs were historically inspected by HMFSI, much of this work is now carried out by the National Audit Office.
On 8 February 2010, the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee heard evidence on the Fire Control project. Called to give evidence were Councillors Brian Coleman and James Pearson from the Local Government Association. Also giving evidence Matt Wrack from the Fire Brigades Union and John Bonney Chief Fire Officers Association. The second session heard evidence from Shahid Malik MP Fire Minister, Sir Ken Knight Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Shona Dunn Director for Fire and Resilience Department for Communities and Local Government, Robin Southwell CEO and Roger Diggle Project Director EADS. The committee was chaired by Phyllis Starkey MP and attracted significant media attention.
Legislation and administration (England) Because of the Government of Wales Act 2006, future legislation might be passed that can only affect England.
Legislation and administration (Northern Ireland) Fire and rescue services in Northern Ireland are provided by a single entity, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, a statutory corporation funded by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.
1950: When the National Fire Service Northern Ireland was disbanded, three fire authorities took control of firefighting but were unified as the Northern Ireland Fire Authority in 1950. The Fire Services (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 1950 (c. 4 (N.I.)) became primary legislation in the same year. 2006: Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (SI 2006/1254 (N.I. 9))
Legislation and administration (Scotland)
Fire services in Scotland are the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Government. Previously the responsibility lay with the Secretary of State for Scotland (the relevant "Secretary of State" referred to in legislation applicable to Scotland).
1824: Establishment of municipal fire service in Edinburgh, the first public fire brigade in the UK 1885: Creation of Scottish Office transferring administrative (but not legislative) responsibility to Secretary of State for Scotland. 1938: Fire Services Act 1938 combined the functions of 185 fire brigades and imposed fire-fighting duties upon local authorities, 1941: Fire brigades transferred to National Fire Service (NFS) to form No.11 Region]. 1947: Fire Services Act 1947 returned fire brigades in Scotland to local authority control, mostly via joint boards. 11 brigades were created resembling somewhat the NFS areas. Section 36 of the Act dealt with its application to Scotland. Parts of the Act remain in force in Scotland. 1959: Parts of the UK Fire Services Act 1959 remain in force in Scotland. 1996: Creation of additional joint boards consequent to local government re-organisation. 1999: Responsibility transfers from Secretary of State for Scotland to the Scottish Executive 2002: Consultation Paper: "The Scottish Fire Service of the Future" 2003: Consultation Paper: "The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: legislative proposals". 2004: introduction of Fire (Scotland) Bill consequent to 2003 consultation paper. 2005: Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 The scope of this act includes a "fire safety regime for non-domestic premises", but it also includes legislation that allows for the provision and operation of fire and rescue services for the eight local authority and joint board FRS in Scotland. 2012: Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, creating a single Scottish Fire and Rescue Service with effect from 1 April 2013
Legislation and administration (Wales) 2006 : The Government of Wales Act 2006 gave the National Assembly for Wales powers to pass laws on "Fire and rescue services. [and] Promotion of fire safety otherwise than by prohibition or regulation.".
Government responsibility for fire services
Central government
Historically, there had been about 1,600 local authority fire services under the responsibility of the Home Office in England and Wales until World War II. In 1941, the creation of the National Fire Service brought all UK fire brigades under central government control. The National Fire Service was in turn under the auspices of the Civil Defence Service. Post-war legislation returned control to the Northern Ireland Government, the Home Office (for services in England and Wales) and the Secretary of State for Scotland.
England
The fire service has always been the ultimate responsibility of a government department, historically assisted by an executive agency called His Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate or HMFSI, its function was described thus:
Directly after the May 2001 general election, control of the fire service in England and Wales passed from the Home Office to the Department for Transport, Local Government and Regions (DTLR). This department was then broken up, creating the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) which took central government responsibility.
In May 2006, the ODPM was re-structured, creating the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG), and it became the central government department for fire authorities in England, but would be advised by a new department under the direction of the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser. The department became the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in 2018, and then Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in September 2021.
Fire service ministers The fire service minister is the most senior politician whose brief directly includes fire and rescue issues in England and Wales, other parts of the UK never having had the matter specifically under the control of a UK minister in peacetime. The fire service minister is not part of the prime minister's cabinet. The post is held by a junior minister or Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State who reports to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who takes ultimate responsibility for fire and rescue, but that is part of a much wider brief.