Fire authority chief welcomes government move on police takeover
"The fight goes on" according to the chair of the county's fire authority, who said a major government setback to plans for the crime commissioner to take over the fire service would not allow them to be lulled into a false sense of security.
Councillor Eric Carter, chair of Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority, has welcomed a decision from government policing minister Kit Malthouse to delay a bid by West Mercia's and Crime Commissioner, John Campion, to take over the governance of the fire service.
The controversial plan has been subject to a legal challenge from the fire authority and although Mr Campion had won the first of two Judicial Reviews into the proposals, Mr Malthouse has now said an updated business case and fresh approval will be required before it can go ahead.
The minister has also said that a decision on the proposal will now not be taken until after the planned police and crime commissioner elections next year.
The decision will be seen as a significant blow to Mr Campion, whose original plan looked set to go ahead after it was approved by the Home Office.
Councillor Carter said: "For us the fight goes on."
He added: "We do not need fixing because we aren't broken. If it is a fire service that is failing you wouldn't argue about a takeover but we are in a situation where that is far from the truth. We are one of the top fire authorities in the country."
Councillor Carter said that Mr Malthouse's decision had come as a surprise.
He said: "Really it came out of the blue this letter. We were not expecting it but we are are quire prepared to deal with any issues that come out of it."
Councillor Carter said that he believed the public are against the plan, as well as frontline firefighters.
He said: "I visited 13 or 14 stations in the last few months to put together the integrated risk management plan, and every single fire station we visited, one of the main comments from the firefighters was they do not want this to proceed."
Councillor Carter said the authority's own alliance with Hereford and Worcester Fire Service was paying dividends and saving money.
He also highlighted the findings of the inspection from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which judged the authority to be good in all three area assessed.
Mr Campion has not yet taken a decision on whether to submit a fresh bid to the government, but said that the delays in approving the takeover had prevented £8 million being spent on local police and fire services.
In a statement responding to Mr Malthouse's letter he said: "I fully accept, understand and support the Minister’s decision at this time. However, it remains the case that joint governance would benefit our local communities and emergency services. The public is right to demand the best possible police and fire services, with the maximum amount of resource focused on the frontline. As such, I will revisit delivering this for our communities."
