Chamber and committees

Petitioner submission of 23 November 2021

PE1910/B: Amend the forthcoming legal requirement to have interlinked fire and smoke alarms in small houses

My concerns about the new legislation applying to Smoke and Fire Alarms in Scottish homes from February 2022 focuses on 3 points –

1. The requirement to have such alarms is not mandatory in the rest of the UK, and it is unfair for Scottish residents to be treated differently and statutorily liable. The new legislation does not make it clear what happens to those who fail to comply with the new duty. In this respect I consider the legislation to be flawed.
2. The new legislation does not make it mandatory to have alarms hard wired. Experience shows that over time existing battery-operated alarms are left without live batteries either through laziness or to rid the residents of ‘low battery’ warning noises which tends to be heard at night and become a nuisance. The increased nuisance caused by several interlinked alarms being set off at the same time will only induce some owners to avoid replacing batteries. In this respect I consider the legislation to be flawed.
3. The costs of sourcing and installing alarms may be especially prohibitive for some residents who are on low incomes. Despite the availability of advice from Social Services or the Fire Service, the costs involved at a time when there are already other financial pressures and a forecast rise in inflation, is unwarranted. The need to have installers enter homes during a pandemic will also cause anxiety to some residents. Residents are already being urged to look at changing the heating systems in their homes in order to reduce reliance on carbon-based fuels, and to change their vehicles for the same reason. The additional financial burden caused by the mandatory call for installing these alarms in Scotland does not apply to the rest of the UK and is therefore unjust.

I urge the Committee Members to accept the need for amendment to the legislation as it stands.