Responding to Home Secretary Theresa May’s speech on fire and rescue services to the Reform thinktank, Cllr Jeremy Hilton, LGA Lib Dem Spokesperson on the Fire and Rescue Service, said:
“We strongly refute the Home Secretary’s criticism of governance structures in fire and rescue authorities (FRAs). Despite funding for stand alone fire services being reduced by an average of 28 per cent between 2010/11 and 2015/16, the number of fire related fatalities and injuries fell because FRAs ensured the service was working as efficiently and effectively as possible.
“Fire and rescue authorities are not failing, far from it. The current framework for FRAs – who are currently subject to local democratic oversight by councillors – is enabling them to collaborate with other emergency services. Fires involving casualties, damage to property or fatalities has fallen by over 20% over the last 5 years. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
NOTES TO EDITOR
Primary fires, those involving casualties or damage to property, fell by 23 per cent from 2010-11 to 2014-15, while the number of fatalities in fires fell by 22 per cent over the same period – https://www.nao.org.uk/report/impact-of-funding-reductions-on-fire-and-rescue-services/