In the last few years, Scotland seems to have led the way in progressive social legislation, whether it's in the provision of free college education or care of the elderLy. Now, with new guidance in relation to the Repairing Standard under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 - which came into effect in September 2007, it's leading the way again -only this time in the area of smoke alarm provision by landlords. From 3 September 2007 onwards, any smoke alarm installed by a landlord - and this includes replacement alarms - has had to be mains powered. In effect, it's the beginning of the end for battery-powered smoke alarms in rented accommodation in Scotland. Hopefully, it will also be the beginning of the end of the battery alarm for councils and housing associations in the rest of the UK as well. We may well find that the Scottish initiative could be adopted by British Standards and legislation in the near future, as it is based on sound safety principles, not to mention backed up by the Fire Statistics, United Kingdom, which show a glaring, ongoing problem with the protection offered by battery-powered smoke alarms compared with mains-powered units.
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