Fire Services Act 1947

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Fire Services Act 1947 (amended 1959)^[1] was the primary legislation relating to firefighting operations in Great Britain from just after the war, until it was repealed and replaced in England and Wales by the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (FRSA 2004) which came about after the Independent Review of the Fire Service in the UK.^[2][3][4]; most of it was later replaced in Scotland by the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 (FSA 2005).

It became law on 31 July 1947, the purpose of the act was "To make further provision for fire services in Great Britain; to transfer fire-fighting functions from the National Fire Service to fire brigades maintained by the councils of counties; to provide for the combination of areas for fire service purposes; to make further provision for pensions and other awards in respect of persons employed in connection with the provision of fire services: and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid." (Fire Services Act 1947)

Contents 1 General Arrangement of the Act 2 Extent and Repeals 2.1 England and Wales 2.2 Scotland 2.3 Northern Ireland 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] General Arrangement of the Act

ss. 1 to 3 Provision of fire services

ss. 4 to 12 Fire Authorities

ss.13 to 16 Supply of water for fire-fighting

ss.17 to 25 Administrative provisions

ss.26 to 28 Pensions etc.

ss.29 to 39 Miscellaneous and General

First to Sixth Schedules

[edit] Extent and Repeals

While the original Act did not contain an "Extent" section, the Preamble and text addressed Great Britain (and parts thereof) only.

[edit] England and Wales

The Fire Services Act 1947 was entirely repealed in England and Wales by the FRSA 2004, now the primary legislation for England and Wales.

[edit] Scotland

The FRSA 2004 extended only to England and Wales, thus leaving the FSA 1947 in force in Scotland. Most of the 1947 Act was later repealed by the FSA 2005, which left ^[5] ss. 26 to 27A (concerning the Firemen's Pension Scheme) still in force in Scotland.

[edit] Northern Ireland

The Act does not extend to Northern Ireland.

[edit] See also

• Fire service in the UK
• History of fire safety legislation in the United Kingdom
• History of fire brigades in the United Kingdom
• UK Statute Law Database - Current statutes with amendments

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database