More than a year after initial consultation on its white paper for the fire and rescue service in England, the Westminster government has published its plans.
Many of the most damaging proposals have been dropped including scrapping collective bargaining and firefighters taking an “oath”.
Also gone is the forced merger of police and fire service governance, though it will be encouraged. Chief fire officers will not get “corporation sole” status, which would have made them (rather than fire authorities) the formal employers of firefighters.
However, a number of controversial proposals remain.
The government will legislate for “operational independence” of CFOs. The recruitment of managers from outside the service will continue. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), an unaccountable bosses’ network, will keep the ear of government.
Ministers plan to create a National College of Fire.
How it will work and who will run it remain to be seen. Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said the proposals would “not put a penny back into the fire service or deliver national standards on response times and crewing, adding that many of them were “dangerous and ill-conceived”.
He added: “The government should be listening to firefighters. Instead, it seems content to leave the same people who have presided over an era of decline in charge. We will bitterly oppose further cuts to our service and any attempt to sideline the voice of firefighters.”
