During 2004-05, the ninth report of the Select Committee on Regulatory Reform considered that the draft Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order should be amended to allow the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 to remain in force. The 1989 regulations were brought into force as a result of the Fennell report into the tragic King's Cross underground fire in 1987. These apply in four fire and rescue authority areas: London, Merseyside, Tyne and Wear and West Midlands. The then Office of the Deputy prime minister agreed to retain these regulations until it published detailed guidance on the application of the order "to ensure public certainty and confidence".

The Department for Communities and Local Government published guidance for the transport premises in 2007. Furthermore, the Department addressed the Committee's concerns that the risk-assessment based regime provided under the order might not be suitable for the particular circumstances of sub-surface railway stations by conducting a review of the 1989 regulations to take account of the order. The purpose of the review was to ensure that the same level of fire safety was maintained. The Department undertook this in partnership with trade union representatives, train operators and enforcing authorities and determined that a number of provisions in the 1989 regulations were adequately covered by the order but that some were not. On the basis of this work, the Department carried out a full public consultation on the proposed revised regulations for fire safety on sub-surface railway stations. The Government response was published in December 2008 and confirmed that the 1989 regulations would be revoked and remade to take account of the order. We have taken this opportunity to modernise and simplify the drafting of the regulations where appropriate, without altering the level of fire safety at sub-surface railway stations.

In response to the Select Committee's particular concern about the absence of guidance specific to sub-surface railway stations issued by the Secretary of State, my Department has now published detailed guidance to accompany the Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) (England) Regulations 2009 which are laid today. The guidance has been written by technical experts and was overseen by a working group drawn from key stakeholder groups. The partnership was further extended by providing the wider group of stakeholders a chance to peer review the guidance in draft. To assist those affected by the change in the regulations, there will be a six-month transition period until the 2009 regulations come into force on 1 October 2009.

I am placing a copy of the guidance in the Library of the House.