A new Westminster fire minister has been officially appointed with responsibility over the fire and rescue service.
Mark Francois takes over the role from Penny Mordaunt who was moved to the Ministry of Defence after less than a year in the post.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “Firefighters everywhere will hope that with a new fire minister in place we can start a genuine and open dialogue about how we protect our essential service for the future. Over the past five years we have seen the worst cuts to our service ever with 7,000 firefighter jobs lost, the closure of over forty fire stations and dozens of fire engines axed. This simply cannot continue.
“We will also be looking to discuss the pension arrangements for firefighters. We were left at the end of the last Parliament with a confusing situation regarding firefighters who suffer a decline in fitness with the government saying one thing and employers saying something different. Firefighters are entitled to know the truth.
“We hope Mr Francois will want a genuine dialogue with the elected representatives of the firefighting profession and we are always available to meet.”
Although reports on social media have suggested Francois had taken up the role since the reshuffle last week it was only been confirmed by the Department for Communities and Local Government on 20 May.
