Government plans to force fire and rescue services to come under the control of police and crime commissioners (PCC), against the wishes of the public, have been condemned by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in Gloucestershire.
Under questioning during a parliamentary debate this week Tory fire minister Mike Penning pointedly refused to rule out a forced PCC takeover in an answer to a question from Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown. An extract of the exchange is below:
Clifton-Brown: "In Gloucestershire, we do not at the moment want the fire and rescue service to be put under the control of the PCC, so will he give us an assurance that it will not be forced to do so against its wishes?"
Penning: “I cannot do so because that is not part of the Bill.”
Firefighters said the plans showed a contempt for local democracy. Tam McFarlane, the executive council member for the FBU in the South West, commented: “The fire minister has been forced to admit that they are willing to impose these controversial plans and effectively allow a hostile takeover of a fire service even when local people, politicians and firefighters are united against it.
“This admission exposes the incredible arrogance of the Tory government who have point-blank refused to listen to the serious professional concerns of the firefighters who deliver this vital service. These plans would fundamentally compromise the independence of our service and would undermine our ability to provide effective life-saving community support.”
Barry Kirby, the Labour candidate for Gloucestershire PCC, called the plans outrageous. “The police and fire service in Gloucestershire are essential parts of our county’s infrastructure. However, I believe very strongly that they perform very different roles and, while they should work closely together, they must not be joined together under the police and crime commissioner role", he said.
“It is outrageous that the government has shown contempt for the views of local people and has refused to rule out the imposition of these plans even where there is serious local opposition".
