| Grahm Ellicot, Chief of The Fire Industry Association |
FIA Chief Grahan Ellicot said: "Any changes made to the present remit and structure of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) would be a mistake."
The government should not include the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in its public sector cuts as it helps to prevent fires and arson attacks, it has been suggested.
A leaked document from the Cabinet Office, which was picked up by the BBC's Politics Show, revealed that the future of the HSE and the Environment Agency are "still to be decided".
However, Graham Ellicott, chief executive of the Fire Industry Association (FIA), claimed that any alteration to the current remit and structure of the HSE would be a mistake.
"Given the recent increase in fires in buildings under construction, any cutting back of the HSE in its role as investigating body and enforcer would be ill advised, especially as hard economic times often lead to more arson attacks," he said.
"Indeed, the FIA believes at this time that the HSE has an increasing part to play in this sector in driving down the number of fire deaths, reducing property losses and helping to lessen the effect of fire on business interruption."
The document intimated that Prime Minister David Cameron is planning to abolish 180 quangos and merge a further 124 following a review by Lord Young.
Meanwhile, American and European golfers were evacuated from their hotel in Newport during the Ryder Cup as a faulty smoke alarm was activated.
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