I WAS surprised to learn this week that the fire service is going to be taking on a greater policing role regarding changes to new legislation that have been introduced affecting their area of expertise.

The Fire Prevention Act has now been updated and any employers that have five or more employees must provide a risk assessment for all premises that they own or occupy.

The legislation asks that all businesses have appropriate measures and the fire service will visit and audit premises and risk assessment plans to ensure buildings comply with the new legislation and, if need be, prosecute employers if they do not have a plan or the plan is not compliant with the legislation.

To date, fines of more than £100,000 have been imposed and a worst case scenario would be a fine and a prison sentence.

However, having listened to the nice guys (those normally sent to rescue us), it would seem that the fire service wants to play an educational role with businesses first, rather than the punitive side of fire risk assessment. The intention is that, despite the nature of their new role, they want to ensure employers get the right type of help and information.

The Fire Service has introduced a series of practical workshops to ensure that employers can get the right type of help and training, along with a fire safety campaign. Pilot workshops have already run in the Tees Valley area, with another series set to be arranged.

The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) has been asked to get involved as a key business organisation and raise awareness of the campaign to businesses across the North-East. As an organisation that cares about its members, we see this as a worthwhile campaign and one that needs to be highlighted.

So it's not just your tax return that you need to ensure you have completed and returned on time, but for the safety of your staff and business, you need to ensure that you have complied with this new legislation.

● Joanne Fryett is the NECC's head of member relations.