The standard report structure.
- Premises and assessment particulars — address, responsible person, use, occupancy, construction, storeys, evacuation strategy; assessment date, type and scope; assessor name, organisation and credentials (now mandatory — see Section 156).
- Methodology — typically PAS 79-1 or 79-2, and the government sector guide used as the benchmark.
- Executive summary and risk rating — the overall judgement, usually on a matrix producing Trivial / Tolerable / Moderate / Substantial / Intolerable.
- Hazard and persons-at-risk analysis — the Article 9 substance.
- Precaution-by-precaution evaluation — escape, compartmentation, detection, lighting, equipment, signage, management — each recorded as adequate or deficient against the benchmark, with photographic evidence.
- Significant findings — every deficiency, graded.
- Action plan — the deliverable that drives compliance; covered fully in the action plan guide.
- Limitations — areas not accessed, matters outside scope (e.g. external wall appraisal deferred to a PAS 9980 FRAEW).
Reading the risk rating.
| Rating | Meaning | Expected response |
|---|---|---|
| Trivial / Tolerable | Precautions match the risk; minor improvements at most | Maintain regime; review on schedule |
| Moderate | Deficiencies requiring planned remediation | Action plan progressed to timescale; interim controls where relevant |
| Substantial | Serious shortfalls; risk not adequately controlled | Urgent remediation; consider restricting use of affected areas |
| Intolerable | Imminent risk to life | Immediate action — stop the activity or vacate the area; expect the assessor to say so on the day |
The rating describes the premises as found on the assessment date. It improves only when actions are completed — a "Substantial" report left in a drawer remains a Substantial premises, and an auditing officer will read it exactly that way. The rating is also what insurers and lenders extract first: see insurance requirements.
Priority gradings decoded
Findings are typically graded P1/P2/P3 or High/Medium/Low with target timescales — immediate, one month, three months, and so on. Two disciplines keep the report defensible: never re-grade a finding downward without a recorded technical justification, and never let a completed action go unevidenced (invoice, certificate, photograph, log entry).
Spotting a weak report
- No photographs, no floor-by-floor coverage, no limitations section.
- Generic findings that could describe any building ("ensure fire doors are maintained").
- No benchmark named — which guide was the building assessed against?
- No assessor identity or credentials.
- An action plan without owners or dates.
These are the marks of the template documents that fail the suitable and sufficient test.