Regional Fire Control Centre (FiReControl) Project has today been scrapped by the Government.
December 20, 2010 by admin
Filed under Campaigns, FiReControl - Regionalisation of Emergency Fire Controls, News, News - Local, News - National
The Regional Fire Control Centre (FiReControl) Project (7 years, £423m, £52m on consultants, 5 years behind schedule) has today been scrapped by the Government.
However, the fight continues to keep the Fire Control Centre on the Isle of Wight and oppose the moves of the Isle of Wight Council to merge it with Surrey FRS (involving a move to Reigate).
Press Association, 20/12/2010:
‘The Government has announced it is scrapping a controversial scheme to replace 46 fire control centres in England with nine new sites, which an MP claimed has “wasted” £1.3 billion.
The surprise move to end the so-called FiReControl project follows a series of delays and increased costs since it was announced by the Labour government several years ago, which pledged that the new system would better protect the public.
Fire Minister Bob Neill said he had reached agreement with the main contractor, Cassidian, to call a halt to the troubled project.
The Fire Brigades Union, which has been campaigning against the project, said the decision was “long overdue”.
General secretary Matt Wrack said: “For seven years the Fire Brigades Union has been sounding the alarm about this project, often as a lone voice, and this decision shows that we were right. While the project was going on, staff in emergency fire control have been treated appallingly, and I hope that, at long last, their security of employment can be confirmed.”
The union said the cost of renting empty buildings for the project was almost £13 million a year.
Labour MP John McDonnell, secretary of the FBU’s parliamentary group, said: “For years we’ve been advising the Government that this project is unworkable and a waste of resources. Our estimate is that up to £1.3 billion has been wasted in aborted cost, and staff morale undermined by years of indecision and incompetence.”
Source: UK Press Assocation: www.google.com" target="_blank" >google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hL70o6y579DD-9xSjLwKXArJtB0g?docId=N0243111292849258983A" target="_blank">Fire control centre plan scrapped
Scrapped regional fire control centres
- East – Essex, Norfolk, Cambridge and Peterborough, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Luton and Suffolk
- East Midlands – Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Northamptonshire
- London – London Fire Brigade
- North East – Durham and Darlington, Tyne and Wear, Cleveland and Northumberland
- North West – Cumbria, Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
- South East – Hampshire, Royal Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Kent, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey and West Sussex
- South West – Devon and Somerset, Dorset, Avon, Cornwall, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire
- West Midlands – Staffordshire, West Midlands, Shropshire, Hereford and Worcester and Warwickshire
- Yorkshire and Humberside – West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Humberside and North Yorkshire
Related links:
Fire Won’t Wait – Save the Isle of Wight Fire Control Centre
Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service
Fire and Rescue Service needs resources to tackle floods
November 25, 2010 by admin
Filed under News, News - Local, News - National, Press Releases, Press releases - national
18 November 2010 – Press release
Fire and Rescue Service needs resources to tackle floods
As firefighters tackle flooding in Cornwall, the Fire Brigades Union has demanded a change in the law to ensure fire crews have the right equipment to tackle these emergencies.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary said: “Firefighters have again acquitted themselves with distinction in rescuing people during the floods in Cornwall. They fully deserve the praise from the public and politicians.
“But the floods in Cornwall have once again shown up the lack of equipment available to firefighters to tackle these emergencies. A year on from the Cumbria floods and three years after the 2007 floods, firefighters are still waiting for a change in the law to ensure they have the boats, the suits and the other equipment needed to help the public.
“The government should stop equivocating and implement the Pitt Review’s recommendation, to make fire and rescue services duty-bound to respond to floods. The government should hand over the £2m promised to the fire and rescue service to ensure it is ready for the next flood emergency.
“More flooding is expected this winter. There is no room for cuts in the fire and rescue service. The frontline has to be protected. People expect their firefighters to be there in any emergency. The government is playing with people’s lives.”
Ends
For further information please contact:-
Francis Beckett 020 8349 9194 07813 001372
http://www.fbu.org.uk/newspress/pressrelease/2010/11_18.php
Fire Brigades Union warns of 10,000 job losses in Fire and Rescue Service.
October 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under News, News - Local, News - National, Press Releases, Press releases - national
October 20 2010
PRESS RELEASE: Fire Brigades Union warns of 10,000 job losses in Fire and Rescue Service.
Ten thousand fire service jobs are under threat from government plans to slash 25 per cent from fire and rescue service budgets over the next four years, the Fire Brigades Union warned today.
Responding to the Comprehensive Spending Review, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU, said: “This government seems intent on imposing cuts that will wreak havoc within the fire and rescue service and short change both the public and firefighters.
“These pernicious cuts must be fought to defend public safety. They are not inevitable, but politically driven. The FBU will oppose these draconian attacks on an essential frontline service and robustly defend the key role firefighters play in keeping communities safe.
“We cannot just meekly roll over and accept this. Neither should the employers. Firefighters are professionals – and we won’t stand by and see our service dismantled piecemeal.”
A Treasury document released this afternoon spells out that central government grants to local authorities to fund fire and rescue services will be reduced by 25 per cent over four years.
In announcing the measures in Parliament, Chancellor George Osborne encouraged fire and rescue services to compete for the shrinking pot of public funds. He said that fire and rescue services could “limit budget reduction in return for substantial operational reform”. Measures mentioned include “flexible working arrangements” and “pay restraint and recruitment freezes”.
Matt Wrack commented: “This is pitting one fire and rescue service against another as resources dwindle, rewarding those who drive down pay and conditions and penalising the rest more. It is bullying and divisive.”
Press Contact – Helen Hague 07889 792360