Part 5: Other provisions about safety standards, etc. Fire safety Section 156: Amendment of Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 Background
The intention of Article 9A is to address the recommendations made in the Independent Review, which recommended a review of competence within fire safety critical roles, including Fire Risk Assessors.
	Building on this report, in the Call for Evidence outlined above the Home Office sought views on the existing provisions in the FSO relating to competent persons and whether they remained sufficient. Respondents highlighted concern about the variable quality of fire risk assessments and the lack of a competence requirement on those engaged by a Responsible Person to complete them.
	Proposals to address this were included in the Fire Safety Consultation which set out a new requirement on the Responsible Person that any person appointed by them to undertake all, or any part, of the fire risk assessment must be competent. 96 per cent of respondents to the consultation agreed with this proposal.
Example
The provision is drafted to enable the Responsible Person to assess the level of competence required to undertake a fire risk assessment on the basis of the type of building and its complexity. The Responsible Person will be able to access guidance on how to complete or review a fire risk assessment and identify a competent person or entity to assist them.