Katherine Metcalfe

Partner, Pinsent Masons

Katherine is a litigator specialising in advice on health and safety, fire safety and environmental matters. Katherine works across the infrastructure, energy and real estate sectors. She is at the forefront of the firm's thought leadership on building and fire safety, advising clients on regulatory change occasioned by the Hackitt review of building regulations and fire safety. Having spent two years heading up the in-house legal team at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Katherine is uniquely placed to guide clients through the complexities of fire safety regulation across the UK. More broadly, Katherine has a wealth of experience in health and safety, environmental and fire safety law. For well over a decade, Katherine has provided pragmatic and down-to-earth advice to the firm's clients, including key players and household names, not only on immediate incident response, internal investigation, and investigations by regulators, but also on how to avoid an incident occurring in the first place. She frequently appears in courts and tribunals defending organisations charged with regulatory offences, representing their interests at Fatal Accident Inquiries and appealing enforcement action. She is a regular speaker at health and safety and fire safety events and provides training and advice on preventative measures.

Contributed to

2

Fire safety law and offences in Scotland

Practice Notes

This Practice Note explains the regulation and enforcement of fire safety laws for non-domestic premises in Scotland. It considers the requirements of Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006, SSI 2006/456. It touches on fire safety in Scotland following the Grenfell Tower fire, including the Review of the Fire Safety Regime in Scotland for High Rise Domestic Property. It considers the scope of fire safety duties placed on Scottish employers and on persons who have control of relevant premises, the fire safety criminal offences which may be committed, the enforcing authorities for fire safety in Scotland as well as the enforcement powers available in response to fire safety offences and fire safety breaches in Scotland. It also explains the scope and purpose of prohibition notices, enforcement notices and alteration notices in the context of fire safety in Scotland.

Corporate Crime

Fire safety offences and enforcement

Practice Notes

This Practice Note explains the key fire safety offences in England and Wales under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, SI 2005/1541 (as amended) including key changes made under the Fire Safety Act 2021 (FSA 2021), Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, SI 2022/547 and section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) in England and Wales. It provides an introduction to the key fire safety duties contained in this legislation and provides links to additional related resources as well as explaining how fire safety breaches are enforced, which bodies are responsible for enforcement and their powers of enforcement including information on the various notices which may be imposed. The Practice Note also provides guidance on the key fire safety offences as well as the maximum penalties which can be imposed following conviction.

Corporate Crime