Every public building, including community buildings and village halls, has to comply to health and safety regulations. These regulations cover a wide range of topics, activities and projects for the protection of people using the hall, and managers who run them. It is the responsibility of the committee to ensure that health and safety regulations are being complied with.
The Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive are responsible for almost all the risks related to health and safety. Information, access to expert advice and guidance is available from the HSE Infoline on 0845 345 0055 or you can visit the HSE website.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
New fire safety rules affecting all non-domestic premises in England and Wales came into force on 1 October 2006. All community buildings management committees will need to carry out a fire risk assessment of their premises, identifying any possible dangers and risks.
A set of guidance notes, available here have been developed to tell you what you have to do to comply with the fire safety law, help you to carry out a fire risk assessment and identify the general fire precautions you need to have in place.
The guides are designed so that a responsible person, with limited formal training or experience, should be able to carry out a fire risk assessment. If you read the guide and decide you are unable to apply the guidance you should see expert advice from the Fire and Rescue Service.
