Fire and rescue services in England and Wales are now able to enter into partnerships with businesses, charities or other organisations which operate across more than one local authority fire enforcement area – becoming their single point of contact for fire safety regulation advice.

The aim of the Primary Authority Partnership scheme is for fire and rescue services to develop effective partnerships with businesses that achieve a national consistency in delivering fire safety enforcement advice.

The scheme will also allow fire authorities to recover costs from its partner organisations.

Who can enter into a Primary Authority Partnership?

The Primary Authority Partnership is open to any business, charity or other organisation that is regulated by two or more fire and rescue services under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, 2005.

It is most likely to benefit businesses with premises in a number of local authority areas.

You can choose which fire and rescue service that you would like to enter into a Primary Authority Partnership with; it doesn’t have to be the one nearest to your head office or in the county where you have the greatest number of outlets.

As a partnership arrangement, you should take time to ensure that the fire and rescue service that you choose to partner with is right for your business and can offer what you are hoping to get out of the scheme.

For more information on entering a Primary Authority partnership with South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue please contact the Business Fire Safety Team at bfs.cs@syfire.gov.uk.