Fire Service Reform Confused

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 12th Jul 2006

Commenting on the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee report into the Fire and Rescue Service released today, Paul Holmes, MP for Chesterfield, said:

"This is another example of the Government's fixation on centralisation. This obsession makes them overlook options like control centres used by all three emergency services, wasting the opportunity to improve emergency responses.

"This report correctly points out that the FiReControl project to introduce eight regional fire control centres is a confusing addition to the already complex governance and structural arrangements for the FRS. The FRS needs confidence in its future, but the mixed signals from the Government on regionalisation fuel fears of a hidden Government agenda. There is no evidence to suggest any overall saving from the movement to regional control centres. I do not trust the Government's claim that FiReControl will achieve increased efficiency."