College of Fire proposal gets a warm welcome from Shropshire chief
Shropshire's fire chief has welcomed proposals for a national College of Fire to support the development of staff.
A White Paper called Reforming our Fire and Rescue Services was presented in Parliament on Wednesday, setting out the Government’s plans to reform the fire service under the themes of people, professionalism and governance.
Chief Fire Officer Rod Hammerton said: “The proposals within the White Paper go far beyond governance and provide excellent opportunities to build on firefighters' existing skills and expertise to provide even more benefit to our public.
"It also provides an opportunity to review how we make sure all our staff are remunerated fairly. I am particularly excited about the proposal for a national College of Fire, which will support the professionalism and continuous development of all our staff groups.”
The White Paper also identifies key areas of improvement, including developing the people within the fire service to improve their skills and allow them to thrive in the workplace, modernising the service to create higher levels of professionalism, and strengthening governance arrangements.
But a failure to address the future of combined fire authorities has upset Councillor Eric Carter, who chairs the Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority.
Councillor Carter said the authority, which provides the political leadership, was pleased to see recognition of the way the fire service has learned following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the work responding to the pandemic.
He added: “However, we were very disappointed to see no clear reference to the future of the existing combined fire and rescue authorities such as ours. Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority brings together two independent authorities to work together across the ceremonial county of Shropshire. This provides a highly efficient and effective service for all the communities in Telford & Wrekin and Shropshire
"Indeed, there appeared to be no reference or recognition to the excellent work of combined fire authorities across the country, who develop and sustain strong community relationships.
“We feel this undervalues areas such as Shropshire, where the fire authority can show a proven track record of keeping our communities and firefighters safe with sound strategic and financial planning.
"There is no evidence that a combined fire and rescue authority, such as ours, does not deliver a more than sufficient and effective service to the community, and Shropshire will continue to provide this at the highest possible standard.”
