Defibrillators (Availability) Bill (HC Bill 91)

A

BILL

TO

Require the provision of defibrillators in education establishments, and in
leisure, sports and certain other public facilities; to make provision for training
persons to operate defibrillators; to make provision for funding the
acquisition, installation, use and maintenance of defibrillators; and for
connected purposes.

Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Health and Wellbeing Boards’ duty to promote comprehensive provision of
defibrillators

(1) It shall be the duty of Health and Wellbeing Boards in England to promote,
encourage and facilitate the comprehensive provision of publicly available
5defibrillators in their areas.

(2) In meeting its duty at subsection (1) a Health and Wellbeing Board must carry
out, but is not limited to carrying out, the following—

(a) the production of an assessment of the need for, and most effective
location of, defibrillators;

(b) 10providing advice to the owners of premises where the Board considers
defibrillators should be installed;

(c) the encouragement of people other than establishments and councils
required to make provision under sections 3 and 4 to provide and
maintain defibrillators;

(d) 15the identification of funders for the provision of defibrillators;

(e) providing advice to those required by this Act and voluntarily
providing defibrillators on;

(i) sources of funding,

(ii) the location of defibrillators at their premises,

(iii) 20the provision of training in the use of defibrillators,

(iv) best practice in the use of defibrillators,

(f) the promotion of public awareness of the availability, location and use
of defibrillators;

Defibrillators (Availability) BillPage 2

(g) the compilation and publication of a register of available defibrillators
and their location; and

(h) the publication of an annual report on the use and effectiveness of
defibrillators in its area.

(3) 5The duty does not include a requirement to fund the provision of defibrillators
or for training in their use.

(4) A Health and Wellbeing Board must, in the exercise of any functions under this
section, have regard to any guidance published by the Secretary of State for the
purposes of this section.

2 10Secretary of State’s duty to provide guidance on the provision of
defibrillators

(1) It shall be the duty of a the Secretary of State to issue guidance on—

(a) the provision of publicly available defibrillators;

(b) targets for the availability of defibrillators, which can make different
15provision for different types of area;

(c) the siting of defibrillators to ensure that they are publicly available (for
example, on gates to premises);

(d) the signage to indicate the location and availability of defibrillators;
and

(e) 20training in the use of defibrillators.

(2) The Secretary of State may review and issue revised guidance from time to
time.

(3) Before issuing or revising guidance the Secretary of State must consult such
persons as he or she considers appropriate.

3 25Provision of defibrillators in educational establishments

(1) By 1 April 2020 all educational establishments are required to provide a publicly
available defibrillator at their main building and, where they have buildings at which
students or pupils are taught at more than one site, at each of their campuses.

(2) When an educational establishment provides a defibrillator it must—

(a) 30be installed and maintained according to the manufacturer’s
recommendations;

(b) be provided with signage to make it easily identified and located by the
public and which meets any guidance on signage issued by the Health
and Wellbeing Board; and

(c) 35inform the Health and Wellbeing Board of its installation and
operation.

(3) When an educational establishment provides a defibrillator it may—

(a) promote awareness of the defibrillator both within the establishment
and to the public in the area in which it is located; and

(b) 40combine training in the use of defibrillators with training in first aid.

Defibrillators (Availability) BillPage 3

4 Provision of defibrillators by town, parish, community and neighbourhood
councils

(1) By 1 April 2020 all town, parish, community and neighbourhood councils are required
to provide at least one publicly available defibrillator.

(2) 5When a council provides a defibrillator it must—

(a) be installed and maintained according to the manufacturer’s
recommendations;

(b) be provided with signage to make it easily identified and located by the
public and which meets any guidance on signage issued by the Health
10and Wellbeing Board; and

(c) inform the Health and Wellbeing Board of its installation and
operation.

(3) When a council provides a defibrillator it may promote public awareness of the
defibrillator in the area in which it is located.

5 15Planning guidance on the provision of defibrillators in educational
establishments

(1) By 1 April 2018 the Secretary of State must issue guidance to planning
authorities advising on the circumstances when planning permission for the
renovation or building of new educational establishments should be granted
20subject to a condition that a defibrillator be installed as part of the
development.

(2) The Secretary of State may review and issue revised guidance from time to
time.

(3) Before issuing or revising guidance the Secretary of State must consult such
25persons as he or she considers appropriate.

6 Interpretation

(NONE) In this Act—

  • a “defibrillator” is an external defibrillator used to deliver a therapeutic
    electric shock to the heart in order to treat a condition that affects the
    30rhythm of the heart in order to re-establish normal conduction of the
    heart’s electrical impulse;

  • an “educational establishment” is;

    (a)

    a university established by Royal Charter,

    (b)

    a university established by statute,

    (c)

    35an institution granted the status of university by an instrument
    under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992,

    (d)

    a college incorporated through the 1992 Act,

    (e)

    a school that has been approved under section 342 of the
    Education Act 1996,

    (f)

    40a maintained school within the meaning given by section 20(7)
    of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998,

    (g)

    a maintained nursery school within the meaning given by
    section 22(9) of that Act,

    (h)

    an independent school registered under section 158 of the
    45Education Act 2002,

    Defibrillators (Availability) BillPage 4

    (i)

    an independent educational institution registered under section
    95(1) of the Education and Skills Act 2008,

    (j)

    an alternative provision Academy within the meaning given by
    section 1C of the Academies Act 2010,

  • 5“premises” includes buildings, part of a building; and

  • “publicly available“ means a publicly accessible place to which the public
    usually have unrestricted access at all times”.

7 Expenses

(NONE) There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament—

(a) 10any expenditure incurred under or by virtue of this Act by the Secretary of
State; and

(b) any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable under any other Act
out of money so provided.

8 Short title, commencement and extent

(1) 15This Act may be cited as the Defibrillators (Availability) Act 2017.

(2) This section comes into force on the day on which this Act is passed.

(3) Section 2 shall come into force at the end of a period of three months beginning
with the day on which this Act is passed.

(4) All other sections shall come into force at the end of a period of six months
20beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.

(5) This Act extends to England and Wales.