Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865

This Act may be cited for all purposes as the “Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865.”

Every insurance company that insures from fire any property in F1Greater London other than the outer London boroughs shall pay annually to the Greater London Council by way of contribution toward the expenses of carrying this Act into effect, a sum after the rate of thirty-five pounds in the one million pounds on the gross amounts insured by it, except by way of reassurance, in respect of property in Greater London other than the outer London boroughs for a year, and at a like rate for any fractional part of a million, and for any fractional part of a year as well as for any number of years for which the insurance may be made, renewed, or continued.

The said payments by insurance companies shall be made quarterly in advance, on the first of January, first of April, first of July, and first of October in every year; . . . F2

All contributions due from an insurance company to the F1Greater London Council in pursuance of this Act shall be deemed to be specialty debts due from the company to the Greater London Council, and be recovered accordingly.

For the purpose of ascertaining the amount to be contributed by every such insurance company as aforesaid, every insurance company insuring property from fire in F1Greater London other than the Outer London boroughs shall, . . . F2 on every . . . first of June, or on such other days as the Greater London Council may appoint, make a return to the said Council, in such form as they may require, of the gross amount insured by it in respect of property in Greater London other than the Outer London boroughs.

There shall be annexed to the return so made a declaration made by the secretary or other officer performing the duties of secretary of the company, by whom it is made, stating that he has examined the return with the books of the company, and that to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief it contains a true and faithful account of the gross amount of the sums insured by the company to which he belongs in respect of property in Greater London other than the Outer London boroughs.

The return made in the June of one year shall not come into effect till the first of January of the succeeding year, and shall be the basis of the contributions for that year.

If any insurance company makes default in making such returns to the F1Greater London Council as are required by this Act, it shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds for every day during which it is so in default.

The secretary or other officer having the custody of the books and papers of any insurance company that is required to pay a contribution to the F1Greater London Council in pursuance of this Act shall allow any officer appointed by the Greater London Council to inspect, during the hours of business, any books and papers that will enable him to ascertain the amount of property insured by such company in Greater London other than the Outer London boroughs, and the amount for which it is insured, and to make extracts from such books or papers; and any secretary or other such officer as aforesaid of a company failing to comply with the requisitions of this section in respect of such inspections and extracts shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding F2level 1 on the standard scalefor each offence.

All penalties imposed by this Act, or by any byelaw made in pursuance thereof, and all expenses and other sums due to the F1Greater London Council in pursuance of this Act, in respect of which no mode of recovery is prescribed, may be recovered summarily before two justices in manner directed by the F2M1Magistrates’ Courts Act 1952, or any Act amending the same, and when so recovered shall be paid to the treasurer of the Greater London Council, notwithstanding any Police Act or other Act of Parliament directing a different appropriation of such monies.

If the companies insuring property within F1Greater London other than the Outer London boroughs, or any such number of them as may in the opinion of the said Council be sufficient, establish a force of men charged with the duty of attending at fires and saving insured property, it shall be the duty of the fire brigade, with the sanction of the Council, and subject to any regulations that may be made by the Council, to afford the necessary assistance to that force in the performance of their duties, and, upon the application of any officer of that force, to hand over to their custody property that may be saved from fire; and no charge shall be made by the said Council for the services thus rendered by the fire brigade.

The metropolitan fire brigade shall in the morning of each day, with the exception of Sundays, send information, by post or otherwise, to all the insurance offices contributing for the purposes of this Act, of all fires which have taken place within F1Greater London other than the Outer London boroughs since the preceding return, in such form as may be agreed upon between the Greater London Council and the said companies.