Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-15039

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what schemes exist to allow fire risk assessors to demonstrate their competence.

Question reference: S4W-15040

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to require fire risk assessors to demonstrate their competence.

Question reference: S4W-15042

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to require fire risk assessors to provide evidence of their competence to care home dutyholders before carrying out work for them.

Question reference: S4W-15038

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what advice is available to assist care home dutyholders to check the competence of fire risk assessors.

Question reference: S4W-15033

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the conclusions were of its consultation, A Consultation on the Revision of the Scottish Government Practical Fire Safety Guidance for Care Homes and the Quality Assurance of Persons Who Offer Risk Assessment Services, and when they will be published.

The conclusions of the consultation on the revision of care home guidance and fire risk assessment quality assurance was published in October 2012 and is available on the Scottish Government (SG) website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0040/00404351.pdf. The revised version of the care home guidance is due to be published this summer.

The existing sector specific guidance for care homes is currently available on the SGFirelaw web pages along with general fire safety guidance/advice at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/Fire-Rescue/FireLaw.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) also provide advice to care home duty-holders, on request, on: how to prevent fires; restrict spread; and the means of escape in the event of fire. However, it is also proactive in carrying out fire safety audits in care homes.

To help duty-holders to consider the competence of fire risk assessors (individuals or companies), the SGFirelaw web pages provide a link to guidance issued by the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council (FRACC) (hosted on the Fire Sector Federation (FSF) website). Information is also given about the benefit of third party certification of fire protection services. There are no plans to make it compulsory for fire risk assessors to be registered or certificated under fire safety law or to require assessors to provide evidence of their competence to care home duty-holders, but SGFirelaw guidance recommends that duty-holders check their competence. Registration schemes do exist for companies/persons carrying out fire risk assessments and details of such schemes are featured in the FRACC guidance. The SG has not had any formal or detailed discussions with the SFRS, since it was formed on 1 April 2013, about reviewing the competency of fire risk assessors.

The SG does not plan to compel fire risk assessors to provide a certificate, or report the issuing of one to the SFRS. The fact that a risk assessment has been carried out is not a confirmation that the level of fire safety in a premises is adequate.

Care home duty-holders have a legal obligation to record the significant findings and certain other information relating to the assessment of risk in the premises. This record could be provided, in whole or in part, by an external assessor under contract. However, duty-holders must be able to make risk assessment information available for the inspection of the SFRS as the “enforcing authority”. The SG has no plans to require records to be otherwise displayed, permanently, on the premises.

Question reference: S4W-15036

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will require care home dutyholders to check the competence of fire protection companies through the use of third party certification schemes.

Question reference: S4W-15035

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what advice is made available to assist care home dutyholders to check the competence of companies that provide (a) fire protection services and (b) fire risk assessments.

Question reference: S4W-15037

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding the competence of fire risk assessors.

Question reference: S4W-15034

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 17 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 31 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what advice is made available to care home dutyholders to ensure fire safety in the premises for which they are responsible.

Question reference: S4F-01432

Asked by: Michael McMahon, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 May 2013

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to Audit Scotland’s report, Managing early departures from the Scottish public sector, which states that the public sector is spending £280 million a year on early departure schemes.