Fire Safety Works framework

Scottish landlords operate under a distinct legislative framework. The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 places duties on responsible persons to carry out fire risk assessments in the common areas of residential blocks, including stairwells, corridors, and communal lounges. This is separate from the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which applies in England and Wales. Scottish Building Standards set requirements for fire safety in new builds and major refurbishments, while the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Scottish Housing Quality Standard establish broader expectations around property condition. The Scottish Social Housing Charter also requires landlords to manage their assets in ways that protect tenant safety. Understanding how these different requirements interact is essential for landlords developing a fire safety management strategy. 

The Scottish Housing Quality Standard includes criteria around the safety of common areas, and fire safety systems are a core component of this. The Scottish Housing Regulator monitors registered social landlords’ compliance with SHQS through annual returns and engagement. Landlords who can’t demonstrate that their properties are safe, or who have significant backlogs of fire safety remedial works, risk regulatory scrutiny. A systematic approach, including regular fire risk assessments, documented remedial programmes, and engagement with the SHR, is the most effective way to manage both the safety and the regulatory relationship. The PfH Scotland Fire Safety Works framework supports this by providing a compliant, auditable route to qualified contractors. 

Under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, the fire risk assessment must identify hazards in common areas, evaluate risk levels, and determine what fire precautions are adequate. For blocks of flats this means assessing the condition of fire doors in common areas, the performance of fire detection systems, the integrity of compartmentation, means of escape, emergency lighting, and the procedures in place for residents in the event of a fire. High-rise buildings or those with identified vulnerabilities, such as combustible cladding or compromised compartmentation, should be assessed more frequently and with specialist input. Assessors should be competent and ideally hold recognised qualifications such as those offered by the Institution of Fire Engineers. Findings must be acted on, and records of both the assessment and any remedial works must be kept. 

There’s no fixed statutory interval in Scotland, but the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 requires the assessment to be kept up to date. In practice, most landlords in the social housing sector commission a reassessment annually. Higher-risk buildings, including high-rise blocks, buildings with known cladding concerns, or those where previous assessments identified significant issues, should be assessed more frequently, sometimes every three to six months. An assessment also needs to be reviewed after significant building works, changes to occupancy, or following a fire or near-miss incident. Letting assessments lapse, or not implementing their recommendations in a reasonable timeframe, creates both compliance risk and potential liability. 

Scottish landlords managing blocks of flats are expected to ensure that fire doors in common areas are installed correctly, maintained in working order, and inspected regularly. Flat entrance doors in buildings that meet the height thresholds set out in fire safety guidance must be appropriate fire-resistant doors and must be kept in good condition, which means self-closing, properly sealed, and free from damage. Organisations should hold records of all inspections, repairs, and replacements. Doors that are wedged open, have failed seals, or aren’t closing properly need to be repaired or taken out of service immediately. Correct installation by accredited contractors with third-party certified products is essential: a good door poorly fitted offers much weaker protection than its rating suggests. 

Scottish landlords managing buildings with potentially non-compliant external wall systems need specialist assessment before planning remediation. The Building Safety Act places obligations on those responsible for higher-risk buildings, and Scottish Ministers have made clear that remediating dangerous cladding is a priority. Funding routes have evolved: some landlords have accessed Scottish Government support through the Cladding Remediation Programme, while others have pursued costs through developers or warranty providers. Whatever the funding route, the actual works need to be procured compliantly and delivered by contractors with the right expertise. The Cladding lot on this framework gives you access to contractors experienced in large-scale programmes, including managing resident communication, planning access, and producing the certification needed to confirm that remediated buildings meet current standards. 

Yes. The framework is well suited to planned programmes where you’ve identified a body of fire safety works across a number of properties and want to procure delivery efficiently. The direct award route is particularly useful here: you can approach the highest-ranked capable supplier in the relevant Scotland region and value band without running a full mini-competition. For larger or more complex programmes, a mini-competition ensures competitive pricing while keeping the process compliant. Our team can help you structure the procurement to match your programme plan, including phased delivery across multiple sites. 

It depends on the type of work. Active fire protection contractors installing alarm and detection systems should typically hold BAFE accreditation, specifically SP203 for fire detection and alarm system companies. Contractors installing sprinkler systems should hold LPCB third-party certification. Passive fire contractors should ideally be certified under the FIRAS or IFC schemes for fire stopping. Fire door contractors and installers should hold third-party certification such as BWF Certifire or FIRAS. All suppliers on this framework have met minimum accreditation standards as part of the selection questionnaire process, which was designed with industry experts and weighted 60% on quality. 

Scottish Government’s Fair Work First policy asks public bodies to require suppliers to commit to fair work practices as a condition of public contracts. PfH Scotland expects suppliers on its frameworks to adhere to relevant fair work principles, and this expectation is embedded in the framework terms. When you’re running a mini-competition, you can also build Fair Work First criteria into your evaluation where appropriate. Our team can advise on how to structure evaluation questions to give meaningful weighting to this. Supporting good-quality local employment is also consistent with the Sustainable Procurement Duty under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, which requires public bodies to consider economic, social, and environmental wellbeing in their procurement decisions. 

Active fire protection refers to systems that detect and respond to fire, such as alarms, sprinklers, and smoke extraction. These systems need power, monitoring, and regular testing to remain effective. Passive fire protection refers to the building’s inherent ability to contain fire and smoke, through compartmentation, fire-rated walls and floors, fire-stopping around service penetrations, and fire doors. Passive protection doesn’t need to be activated; it works by physical separation. Both are essential. A building with an excellent alarm system but compromised compartmentation can still suffer rapid fire spread. For Scottish landlords, maintaining both active and passive systems in good condition is an ongoing responsibility, not a one-off installation exercise. 

This is one of the most common practical challenges for Scottish social landlords. Fire risk assessments sometimes identify remedial works that are urgent but cost more than the current budget allows. In this situation, it’s important to prioritise works by risk level, document the prioritisation decisions, and communicate transparently with the Scottish Housing Regulator if the gap is significant. Our team can help you scope works and structure phased procurement that addresses the highest-risk issues first while managing cashflow. In some cases, accessing framework suppliers early for a scoping exercise or cost plan can help you build a business case for additional capital investment. It’s never advisable to leave fire risk assessment recommendations unacted on without a documented reason and a realistic plan to address them.