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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Gas Safety and Compliance Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that {{org_field_name}} maintains the highest standards of gas safety and compliance, protecting service users, staff, and visitors from gas leaks, carbon monoxide poisoning, and fire hazards. This policy sets out the arrangements by which {{org_field_name}} identifies and reduces, so far as is reasonably practicable, gas, combustion and carbon monoxide risks that may affect individuals receiving care and support or staff working in individuals’ homes. It supports compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, as amended, the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016, the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended, and the statutory guidance issued under section 29 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016.

As a domiciliary care provider, we play a key role in identifying and managing gas safety risks in service users’ homes while ensuring staff are trained to respond appropriately to potential gas hazards.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All service users’ homes where gas appliances, heating systems, or gas-powered equipment are in use.
• All employees, including care workers, administrative staff, and management.
• Employees and workers of {{org_field_name}}, including care workers, office staff and management. Where {{org_field_name}} directly commissions a contractor, the policy also applies to the arrangements for selecting, instructing and monitoring that contractor. Contractors remain responsible for complying with the legal and professional requirements applicable to their work.

This policy applies to risks encountered while {{org_field_name}} is assessing, planning or delivering a regulated domiciliary support service. It does not transfer to {{org_field_name}} the legal responsibilities of a landlord, contract-holder, homeowner, gas transporter, gas supplier or Gas Safe registered engineer. Care staff must not install, service, dismantle, repair, alter, inspect or certify gas appliances, pipework, flues, gas meters or combustion systems unless they are separately employed and legally competent to undertake that work.

This policy covers:

• Gas safety checks and servicing in service users’ homes.
• Identifying and reporting gas leaks and carbon monoxide risks.
• Emergency procedures in case of a gas-related incident.
• Staff training on gas safety awareness.
• Collaborations with landlords, local authorities, and gas safety inspectors.

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

{{org_field_name}} will have regard to and, where applicable, comply with the following legislation and statutory requirements:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: requires the organisation, so far as is reasonably practicable, to protect employees and other persons who may be affected by its work activities.
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: require suitable and sufficient assessment of risks arising from the organisation’s work, including risks to staff working in individuals’ homes.
• The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, as amended: govern gas fittings, gas work, landlord gas-safety duties and the requirement for relevant gas work to be carried out by a competent and appropriately registered engineer.
• The Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 and the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017, as amended: require the service to be provided safely, competently and in accordance with current policies and procedures. Regulation 57 requires risks to the health and safety of individuals to be identified and reduced so far as is reasonably practicable.
• The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, as amended: place relevant repair, fitness, smoke-alarm and carbon monoxide-alarm duties on landlords of dwellings covered by those provisions.
• The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013: require specified work-related deaths, injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences to be reported to the relevant enforcing authority by the legally responsible person.

{{org_field_name}} will distinguish between its own legal duties and those belonging to the landlord, homeowner, contract-holder, gas supplier, gas transporter or Gas Safe registered engineer. Where another person has the primary legal responsibility, {{org_field_name}} will report concerns, take proportionate action to protect the individual and staff, and cooperate with the responsible person or relevant authority.

4. Gas Safety Risk Assessment for Service Users

4.1 Identifying Homes at Risk

Upon initial assessment and during regular care plan reviews, care staff will evaluate service users’ homes for gas safety risks, including:

• Presence of gas appliances (boilers, cookers, gas fires, heaters).
• Age and condition of gas equipment (checking for outdated or poorly maintained appliances).
• Carbon monoxide alarm availability and functionality.
• Evidence of unsafe combustion or ventilation, including blocked or covered ventilation openings, damaged flues, staining or soot around an appliance, excessive condensation close to an appliance, a frequently extinguished pilot light, an abnormal flame appearance, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounding.
• Whether the service user is aware of gas safety procedures and emergency contacts.

Gas, combustion and carbon monoxide risks identified as relevant to the delivery of the individual’s care and support must be recorded in the provider assessment, risk assessment and personal plan, as applicable. Relevant controls must be reviewed whenever circumstances change, following a gas-related concern or incident, when new equipment or appliances are introduced, and as part of each statutory personal-plan review. Personal plans must be reviewed as and when required and at least every three months.

4.2 Supporting Service Users in Gas Safety Compliance

• Provide information or reminders about safe appliance use only where this is within the agreed care and support role, recorded in the personal plan, and staff have received appropriate instruction.
• Staff must not attempt to relight, reset, dismantle, service, repair, move or modify a gas appliance or flue unless the appliance manufacturer’s ordinary user instructions expressly permit the action and the organisation’s risk assessment and personal plan authorise it.
• Where rented accommodation is concerned, report missing, expired or apparently inadequate gas-safety arrangements to the individual or their representative and, with appropriate consent or other lawful authority, to the landlord, managing agent, commissioner or local authority.
• Where a carbon monoxide alarm is present, staff may undertake an ordinary user test only in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and where this task is included in the personal plan. Staff must not install, repair or replace an alarm unless this is separately authorised and they are competent to do so.
• Any refusal by an individual with capacity to permit contact with a landlord, contractor or other person must be recorded. The decision must be respected unless there is another lawful basis for disclosure or action, including an immediate risk to life, a safeguarding duty or another statutory obligation.

If an immediate danger is identified, including a suspected gas escape, a sounding carbon monoxide alarm, suspected carbon monoxide exposure, fire, explosion or an appliance that appears unsafe, staff must follow the emergency procedure in Section 5 without delay. Other concerns, including an overdue or unavailable landlord gas-safety record, a defective carbon monoxide alarm or an apparent failure to maintain a landlord-supplied appliance, must be reported promptly to the Registered Manager and escalated to the person or authority with legal responsibility. The urgency and route of escalation must be determined by the level of risk.

5. Managing Gas Leaks and Carbon Monoxide Risks

5.1 Recognising a Possible Gas Escape or Carbon Monoxide Risk

Natural gas is deliberately given a distinctive odour, commonly described as similar to rotten eggs. Carbon monoxide is different: it is colourless, odourless and tasteless and cannot be detected by smell.

Possible signs of a gas escape include:

• a strong or persistent smell of gas;
• a hissing sound from pipework, a meter or an appliance;
• damaged gas pipework or an appliance connection;
• an unexplained gas-supply or gas-pressure problem.

Possible signs of unsafe combustion or carbon monoxide include:

• a carbon monoxide alarm sounding;
• soot, staining or discolouration around an appliance;
• increased condensation near an appliance;
• an abnormal or unstable appliance flame;
• headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, chest pain, breathlessness, collapse or loss of consciousness, particularly where more than one person is affected or symptoms improve after leaving the property.

Staff must not rely on symptoms or visual signs to confirm or exclude carbon monoxide. Suspected exposure must be treated as an emergency.

5.2 Immediate Action Where a Gas Escape Is Suspected

1. Do not operate electrical switches, door-entry systems, plugs, sockets or other equipment that could create a spark.
2. Extinguish naked flames only where this can be done immediately and safely. Do not smoke, light matches or use lighters.
3. Do not use a mobile telephone inside the affected property. Once outside and at a safe distance, telephone the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
4. Open external doors and windows where this can be done immediately without delaying evacuation or placing anyone at additional risk.
5. Turn off the gas supply at the emergency control valve only where its location is known, it is readily accessible and it is safe to do so. Staff must not delay evacuation to locate or operate the valve.
6. Support the individual and other occupants to leave the property. Do not re-enter until the emergency service or a competent gas engineer confirms it is safe.
7. Call 999 where there is fire, explosion, serious illness, breathing difficulty, collapse, loss of consciousness or any other immediate threat to life.
8. Inform the Registered Manager as soon as it is safe to do so.
9. Record the incident, action taken, persons contacted, advice received and outcome.

5.3 Immediate Action Where Carbon Monoxide Is Suspected

1. Support everyone to leave the property and move into fresh air immediately.
2. Call 999 where anyone is unwell, has collapsed, has lost consciousness, has breathing difficulties or displays significant symptoms.
3. Seek urgent medical advice for anyone who may have been exposed, even if symptoms improve after leaving the property.
4. Do not re-enter the property or use the suspected appliance until the property and appliance have been assessed and declared safe by the appropriate emergency service or a competent Gas Safe registered engineer.
5. Contact the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 where a gas appliance, gas supply or gas combustion source may be involved.
6. Inform the Registered Manager and follow the incident, safeguarding and regulatory-notification procedures.

6. Ensuring Compliance with Gas Safety Checks

6.1 Rented Homes

For rented accommodation to which regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 applies, the landlord or other legally responsible person must:

• maintain relevant landlord-provided gas pipework, appliances and flues in a safe condition;
• arrange a gas-safety check of relevant appliances and flues at intervals of no more than 12 months, subject to the permitted statutory arrangements for completing checks within the prescribed period while retaining the existing deadline;
• ensure the check is undertaken by a Gas Safe registered engineer who is competent for the category of work;
• provide the current gas-safety record to an existing tenant or contract-holder within the legally required period and to a new tenant or contract-holder before occupation;
• take appropriate remedial action where an appliance or installation is found to be unsafe.

In Welsh rented homes covered by the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, the landlord must also ensure that a carbon monoxide alarm, in proper working order, is present in each room containing a gas appliance, oil-fired combustion appliance or solid-fuel-burning combustion appliance.

{{org_field_name}} is not responsible for issuing or certifying a landlord gas-safety record. Where the existence or currency of the record is relevant to an identified risk, staff must report the concern to the Registered Manager. Any request for or retention of a copy must have a clear care, safety or legal purpose, must be proportionate, and must comply with data-protection requirements.

6.2 Supporting Homeowners

• Homeowners are responsible for arranging the safe maintenance of their own gas appliances, pipework and flues.
• Where an identified gas-safety risk affects the provision of care and support, staff must explain the concern to the individual in an accessible manner and record the advice given.
• Where the individual requests assistance and this is within the agreed service, staff may support them to contact a Gas Safe registered engineer, family member, representative, advocate or appropriate support service.
• Staff must not select or instruct a contractor, incur costs or enter into an agreement on the individual’s behalf unless the individual has authorised this and the staff member is acting within the organisation’s procedures and any applicable legal authority.
• Where an adult with capacity declines action, the refusal and information provided must be recorded. Immediate risks to staff must be referred to the Registered Manager before further visits are undertaken.

7. Training and Competency for Care Staff

To ensure staff can recognise and respond effectively to gas safety risks:

• All staff receive gas safety awareness training during induction and annual refresher courses.
• Training covers:
  • Identifying gas leaks and carbon monoxide risks.
  • Emergency response procedures.
  • Correct reporting and escalation processes.
  • How to support service users in managing gas safety.

Training and competency assessment must make clear that care workers are not gas engineers. Training must cover:

• the distinction between a gas escape, unsafe combustion and carbon monoxide exposure;
• the fact that carbon monoxide cannot be seen, smelled or tasted;
• safe evacuation and emergency-contact procedures;
• circumstances in which staff must not operate an appliance, switch, gas valve or electrical equipment;
• the limits of the care worker’s role;
• recording, internal escalation, safeguarding and regulatory-notification procedures;
• risks to lone workers and the action required where a home is unsafe to enter or remain in.

Completion of training must be recorded. Staff competence and understanding must be checked through induction, supervision and periodic refresher activity. Additional instruction must be provided following a relevant incident, identified knowledge gap or change in guidance.

Failure to comply with gas safety procedures will result in disciplinary action under the Staff Conduct and Code of Ethics Policy (DCW28).

8. Incident Reporting and Escalation

8.1 Reporting a Gas Safety Concern

If staff identify faulty gas appliances, lack of gas safety certification, or a suspected gas leak, they must:

1. Take any immediate action necessary under Section 5 to protect life and prevent further exposure.
2. Report the concern to the Registered Manager or on-call manager as soon as it is safe to do so.
3. Make a contemporaneous factual record in the organisation’s incident-reporting system.
4. Record relevant information in the individual’s care records and update the risk assessment and personal plan where the risk affects the delivery of care and support.
5. Do not contact a landlord, contractor, authority or representative unless this is authorised by the individual, supported by another lawful basis, or required because of an emergency, safeguarding concern or statutory obligation.
6. Where the environment remains unsafe, care staff must not re-enter or continue routine care until the Registered Manager has assessed the risk and appropriate arrangements have been made.
7. The Registered Manager must consider whether alternative care arrangements, emergency support, commissioner involvement, a safeguarding referral, a CIW notification or an HSE report is required.

8.2 Recording and Investigating Incidents

All gas-related incidents (e.g., leaks, carbon monoxide poisoning, non-compliance issues) must be formally documented in the Incident Reporting System.

The Registered Manager will conduct an investigation and implement corrective actions to prevent future risks.

CIW notifications and HSE reports are separate legal processes and must not be treated as interchangeable.

The service provider must notify CIW, without delay and in writing, of any event listed in Schedule 3 to the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017. A gas-related event must therefore be considered for CIW notification where, for example:

• it results in a serious accident or injury to an individual;
• it is reported to the police;
• it involves abuse, neglect, improper treatment or an allegation concerning staff;
• it prevents, or could prevent, the provider from continuing to provide the service safely.

Notifications must include details of the event and must be submitted in the manner and form required by CIW. The statutory guidance states that notifications should be made without delay, usually within 24 hours.

RIDDOR applies only where the statutory reporting criteria are met and the organisation is the responsible person for the report. A gas smell, carbon monoxide alarm activation or gas-related concern is not automatically RIDDOR-reportable. The Registered Manager must assess whether the event arose out of or in connection with work and whether it involved a reportable death, specified injury, over-seven-day incapacity, injury to a non-worker requiring direct hospital treatment, occupational disease or specified dangerous occurrence. Where uncertain, competent health and safety advice must be obtained promptly.

Reports made by gas conveyors, suppliers or Gas Safe registered engineers under their separate RIDDOR gas-reporting duties do not remove any reporting duty that may independently fall upon {{org_field_name}}.

8.3 Records

The following information must be recorded for every gas, combustion or carbon monoxide concern or incident:

• date, time and location;
• name of the individual affected;
• name and role of the person identifying or reporting the concern;
• factual description of signs, symptoms, alarm activation or information received;
• immediate action taken;
• whether the property was evacuated;
• whether 999, the National Gas Emergency Service, a landlord, Gas Safe registered engineer, commissioner, local authority, police or another agency was contacted;
• advice provided by each agency;
• medical assessment or treatment obtained;
• persons informed within {{org_field_name}};
• whether care visits were suspended, altered or relocated;
• safeguarding, CIW and RIDDOR decisions, including the reasons for each decision;
• follow-up action, risk-assessment changes and personal-plan changes;
• confirmation of when the environment was considered safe for staff to return.

Records must be accurate, contemporaneous, securely stored and retained in accordance with the organisation’s records-management policy and regulation 59 of the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017.

9. Collaborative Working with External Agencies

To enhance gas safety and compliance, {{org_field_name}} collaborates with:

• Gas Safe registered engineers, where appointed by the person legally responsible for the gas installation or properly authorised by the individual, for technical assessment, safety checks, servicing and repairs.
• Local authority housing, environmental health, social services or safeguarding teams, according to the nature of the concern and their statutory functions.
• Energy suppliers and fuel poverty schemes to ensure vulnerable service users can afford heating.
• Emergency services and the National Gas Emergency Service for rapid response to leaks and incidents.

Cooperation with another organisation does not transfer that organisation’s statutory responsibility to {{org_field_name}} or remove {{org_field_name}}’s responsibility to protect individuals and staff within the scope of the regulated service.

10. Related Policies

This policy should be read alongside:

• Health and Safety at Work Policy (DCW16)
• Emergency and Business Continuity Plan (DCW19)
• Risk Management and Assessment Policy (DCW18)
• Safe Care and Treatment Policy (DCW11)

• Incident Reporting and Investigation Policy
• Safeguarding Adults and Children Policy
• Lone Working Policy
• Records Management and Data Protection Policy
• Duty of Candour Policy
• CIW Notifications Policy or Procedure
• Staff Training, Supervision and Competency Policy
• Consent and Mental Capacity Policy

11. Policy Review

The Responsible Individual must ensure that suitable arrangements are in place to keep this policy and its associated procedures up to date. The policy will be formally reviewed at least annually and sooner following:

• a change in applicable legislation, statutory guidance or CIW requirements;
• a gas, combustion or carbon monoxide incident;
• a safeguarding concern, complaint, audit finding or regulatory recommendation relating to gas safety;
• a change in the organisation’s statement of purpose or service-delivery arrangements;
• evidence that staff do not understand or follow the policy.

Amendments must be approved through the organisation’s governance arrangements, communicated to relevant staff and reflected in training, risk-assessment and audit arrangements. The organisation must monitor whether the policy is being followed in practice.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
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