Shropshire fire service alliance plan moves forward

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service's strategy and resources committee approved the strategic alliance plan at a meeting and agreed to recommend that the fire authority adopts the plan for 2018 to 2022.

Rod Hammerton, Shropshire's chief fire officer, told the committee: "The plan shows our direction over the next four or five years.

"This is not a proposal for a merger, this is a proposal for two fire services to work closer together to build capacity and resilience.

"The driver of the plan isn't the economic savings.

"We're two relatively small fire services and with that are areas of frailty, so we're seeking to get al the benefits of a bigger fire and rescue service without having to become one.

"We don't know what's coming past 2022, there's an anticipation that budget reductions will continue beyond that point."

West Mercia’s Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion has criticised details of the alliance. He was granted permission in March to take over Shropshire Fire Service as part of his role, but Shropshire and Wrekin Fire & Rescue Authority announced in June that it was planning a legal challenge to the move.

Mr Campion said he believed the aspirations by Shropshire, and Hereford and Worcester fire services to work more closely together were 'not far reaching enough', and was also critical at the lack of plans to work closer with West Mercia Police.

'Harmonised'

Mr Hammerton said that while he recognises that it is a fire plan, there is a potential for it to become a more 'harmonised' plan in due course.

He added: "I recognise his point abut it not including the police but this is a fire alliance.

"This is a plan to be undertaken with the staff not to the staff.

"If we can create the energy and enthusiasm at the bottom then it'll change the structure as it moves up."

The committee agreed to respond to Mr Campion over the comments.

Councillor Alex Phillips called for performance metrics to be added into the plan.

The plan contains 24 actions, including reviewing safeguarding processes, reviewing community safety provisions, reviewing and aligning senior leadership teams, and plans to reinvest savings.

Mr Hammerton has previously said that it would be "impossible to say" whether there will be redundancies as a result of the alliance.

Shropshire's fire authority approved investigations into how the two fire services could work together in March in the wake of major cuts in Government funding.

The next step will be to set up a governance framework and prepare a plan to carry out actions in the alliance plan.