As an owner, manager or operator of a business, charity or organisation regulatory requirements can be daunting, confusing or difficult to interpret.
The Primary Authority Scheme (PAS) is a government backed scheme, overseen by the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) aiming to reduce regulatory uncertainty. Legal partnerships are established between businesses and local authorities, either directly or through a business belonging to a group (such as a trade association) that has an existing partnership.
The Primary Authority works with the business or group to:
- develop an open and honest relationship, sharing information about legal requirements, improving compliance and working together to resolve issues
- provide tailored advice and guidance on regulatory compliance, known as 'Primary Authority Advice' that organisations can rely upon and have confidence in
- act as a single point of contact with other regulators, reducing duplication of effort with multiple councils that might inspect your business premises or your products
- develop a detailed understanding of how a business complies with legal requirements in key areas, allowing it to influence future inspections and target checks by others.
PAS is not about loosening regulation, but delivering regulation better. This aligns with our focus on fire safety, support for the community, including vulnerable people and aims to strengthen areas identified within the Critical Fire Risk Map and Community Risk Management Plan 2022-26.
Find more information about the PAS on the GOV.UK website.
Benefits of the Primary Authority Scheme
- Financial
- Reduces costs of complying with regulations since there is no need to consult multiple different authorities about the same issues.
- Reduces costs associated with compliance failures, such as legal fees, financial penalties or interruption to normal business activities.
- Improved confidence
- Reduces the risk of reputational damage caused by compliance failures.
- Advice tailored to the organisation.
- Consumers and suppliers can be assured of the measures businesses are taking to comply with regulation.
- Primary Authorities can assist in the event of compliance failure by:
- working with a business to quickly assess the issue and agree what action is needed
- making recommendations to local councils on how to respond proportionately to any compliance failure
- being able to direct against enforcement action by another local authority, where a business has acted on Primary Authority advice.
Cost
Local authorities are only permitted to recover the costs incurred by them to deliver the partnership, known as 'cost recovery'. Contact us for further information.
Further information
- Primary Authority: a guide for businesses (GOV.UK)
- About Primary Authority (National Fire Chiefs' Council)
- Primary Authority: Introduction video (YouTube)
- West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service becomes Primary Authority for Churchill Retirement Living
- Fire safety training