Press Release: 22 December 2010: RCC’s (FiReControl) Project Cancelled
December 22, 2010 by admin
Filed under Campaigns, FiReControl - Regionalisation of Emergency Fire Controls, News, News - Local, News - National, Press Releases, Press releases - local
Press Release: 22 December 2010 – For immediate release
RCC’s (FiReControl) Project Cancelled
After 8 years, £423m-£1.3bn, £52m on consultants and 5 years behind schedule the ‘FiReControl Project’ (Regionalisation of Emergency Fire Control Centres) was scrapped by the Government on 20 December 2010.
Paul Watts, Control Staff National Committee Rep (FBU Region 12 – Southern Region) said “This vindicates the professional opinion of Firefighters and Firefighters (Control), who have been the lone professional voice of the Fire Service in opposition to this fiasco, which has been a gross and obscene waste of public money. Fundamentally, technology will not save lives; it is the professionalism, skill and local knowledge that ensure public and firefighter safety.”
The last Government, along with many MP’s and local politicians have ignored the warnings and supported this failing and expensive project.
However, the fight continues as the Isle of Wight Council, who have consistently supported the failed FiReControl Project, now wish to pursue the moving of the Isle of Wight Fire Control Centre to Reigate, Surrey.
Andrew Cooper, Fire Control Rep, Isle of Wight FBU, said, “I would like to re-interate and endorse the comments of Peter Holland, President of the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (of 20/12/2010) ‘We must pay tribute to the hundreds of control room staff across the country who have had to deal with major uncertainty over the last few years, but who have continued to provide our communities with a very efficient and effective service throughout this time.”
Andrew Cooper added “My colleagues professionalism, knowledge, skill, integrity and tenacity has been very evident over the past eight years, providing the exemplary level of service that Island residents, visitors and businesses deserve.
We look forward to local politicians learning the lessons of history that the FiReControl Project shows and retain the Island’s Fire Control Centre.”
***ENDS***
Contacts:
Andrew Cooper, Chairman, Fire Control Branch, Isle of Wight FBU: 07889 182 762
Matt Sainsbury, Brigade Secretary, Isle of Wight FBU: 01983 525 121 (Fire Control Centre)
Paul Watts, Control Staff National Rep. (Southern Region): 07917 065 889
Ricky Matthews, FBU Regional Secretary (Southern Region): 07917 065 863
http://www.isleofwightfbu.com
http://www.fbur12.org.uk
http://www.fbu.org.uk
Notes to Editors
Fire Minister Bob Neill MP announced on 20 December 2010 in a Ministerial statement to the House of Commons that the FiReControl Project was scrapped (please see the attached Ministerial Statement).
FiReControl Project: £423m-£1.3bn (actual figure not yet released by the Government as deemed ‘commercial in confidence’). The last known stated figures show £423m, with £52m was spent on consultants for the project.
The project was started eight years ago (2004) and was running over five years behind schedule.
As part of the project the isle of Wight Fire Control Centre (in Newport, Isle of Wight) was to be transferred to the proposed South-East Regional Control Centre in Fareham, Hampshire, which was to cover nine counties (Hampshire, Royal Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Kent, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey and West Sussex) and eight milllion people.
Since the May 2010 General Election the botched and wasteful FiReControl project has cost the tax payer £8.7m just for rent on the nine empty regional control centre buildings.
The South East Regional Control Centre building has laid empty for several years at a cost of £1.84m per annum to the taxpayer.
Dividing this figure down further to County level (for the nine counties for the RCC: Isle of Wight, Hampshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent, Berkshire) means the cost per annum to the local tax payer is £204,445.
Additional figures that would have to be added to the above annual costs for the Regional Fire Control Centre (based in Fareham) would be £396,825 per annum (£44,091 for the Isle of Wight) for facilities management services (provided by VT Flagship), Firelink (radio contract costs – unknown) and staffing costs (unknown).
Additional costs include the project management at the Department for Communities and Local Government (formerly Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – the then John Prescott), along with the South East Regional Management Board for FiReControl.
The project is five years behind schedule and was massively over budget.
The nine Regional Fire Control Centre buildings lie empty costing £40,000 per day in rent (source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/7533673/Will-this-waste-of-our-money-never-stop.html).
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
In September 2010 Isle of Wight Councillors voted at a Full Council Meeting for an ‘in principle’ decision to move the Isle of Wight Fire Control Centre to Reigate, Surrey (Surrey Fire and Rescue Service), with a delegated decision.
A ‘Full Business Case’ is currently being compiled, which it is currently understood is due to go before Cllr Barry Abrahams, who will then make the delegated decision in February 2011.
Save Isle of Wight Fire Control Campaign website: http://www.firewontwait.com
Ministerial Statement and CFOA Press Release – both of 20 December 2010:
Ministerial Statement FiReControl – FINAL 20 December 2010 as PDF
CFOA Press Release 101220 FireControl Scrapped as PDF
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
Region 12 (Southern Region) Fire Brigades Union
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service currently has one of the slowest emergency response times in England
November 18, 2010 by admin
Filed under News, Press Releases, Press releases - local, Press releases - national
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service currently has one of the slowest emergency response times in England.
Source: CLG Review of Fire and Rescue Service Response Times
The residents, businesses and commuters in Surrey deserve far better emergency response time than those that are currently being achieved. Response times in Surrey have worsened rapidly of the last few years but the service currently has no plans in place which will improve them.
However, the service is planning changes which will worsen the emergency response times still further due to budget cuts being imposed by Surrey County Council (SCC).
Should Surrey Fire and Rescue Service provide a service with the aim of saving life, property and possessions or simply a service to clear up the mess after all has been lost?
To bring Surrey’s Emergency Response Times in line with the average nationally will require additional funding on the frontline service. To bring Surrey’s Emergency Response Times into the top 25% nationally will require additional funding on the frontline service.
Surrey County Council appears to have taken the decision on behalf of the public that it should provide a cheap inadequate service which ironically will cost the public far more in financial terms through insurance premiums, lost business, lost wages, lost jobs and uninsured losses.
Response Times Data
Surrey compared to the other Fire Authorities
Nationally, of the 46 Fire Authorities in England, Surrey ranked 34th on speed of response to dwelling fires in 2006. The data shown of the next few pages is taken
from CIPFA and CLG covering the years 1996 to 2006. Up to date response times have not yet been made available nationally but the average response time’s data for all emergency calls for the current year (2009/10) for is available in Surrey which also shown in this chapter.
Another way of comparing Surrey’s response time is below; comparing Surrey to the other Fire Authorities (FA’s) within its Family Group which the Public Value Review has set out to do.
Surrey’s 11 year average is the worst in the group with no sign of improvement at the end of 2006 as the table shows an 11 year worsening trend. The slowest times for each year are highlighted. Surrey had the slowest average response times for 6 out of the 10 years shown.
On the data shown so far, Surrey is in the bottom 25% nationally and the bottom 15% in its Family Group. Compared in terms of proportion WT to RDS crewing, its performance is the worst nationally by a considerable margin.
SF&RS recognise the importance of achieving good response times. Although response times are not a measure of ultimate performance of a fire service; all fire service’s (and all other emergency service’s) recognise that their ability to meet the legal core functions is heavily reliant on the ability of the service to respond in good time. In the simplest terms; if we aren’t present at the scene of an emergency we can’t save lives or mitigate the loss to property; as the ENTEC (referred to earlier) report proved. So maintaining strong performance on the inputs is equally as important as measuring ultimate outputs.
Until 2004, all fire authorities used the national response standard; 1985 Standards of Fire Cover. Fire authorities would monitor measure and report their response time’s performance against that national standard.
However, in 2004 with the introduction of Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMP’s), individual fire authorities were afforded the option of introducing local standards of fire and emergency cover to tailor the service to meet their local risks as opposed to using a national standard.
In 2006, Surrey introduced its new emergency response standard to replace the national standard it had previously measured their response times performance against. SF&RS’s Emergency Response Standard introduced in the 2006 IRMP stated a response standard for all emergency calls;
“We will deliver a Surrey Standard for response, through the flexible and effective allocation of resources across the county, to all
incidents we attend.
75% of Surrey’s population will receive an initial appliance within eight minutes.
Where necessary, 75% of Surrey’s population will receive two appliances or equivalent within 12 minutes.
Reach 100% of Surrey’s population with an initial appliance within 18 minutes.
It is our aim to improve the Surrey Standard for response by 2010 to achieve the following:
80% of Surrey’s population will receive an initial appliance within eight minutes”
The data shown in this chapter shows that SF&RS have failed to achieve their Emergency Response Standard
The IRMP’s are subject to all stakeholder consultation including the public. This Emergency Response Standard was agreed by the county council but the public are not been made aware that SCC have failed to achieve it.
Supporting Documents – available as downloadable PDF’s:
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Response Times Response Times
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Establishment and crewing levels
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Costs
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Summary November 2010
Source: http://www.fbu.org.uk/newspress/pressrelease/2010/11_17.php
Related links:
Fire Bridades Union concerned about merger of Isle of Wight Fire Control Centre to Surrey
September 23, 2010 by admin
Filed under Campaigns, News, News - Local, News - National, Press Releases, Press releases - local
FIRE BRIGADES UNION
IMMEDIATE MEDIA RELEASE: 23rd September 2010
Fire Bridades Union concerned about merger of Isle of Wight Fire Control Centre to Surrey
At the Isle of Wight Council Full Council meeting, held on Wednesday 22 September 2010, Councillors voted through plans for an ‘in principle’ decision to move the Island’s emergency 999 Fire Control Centre to Reigate in Surrey.
The Fire Brigades Union are deeply concerned that these proposals are hastily being moved forward, to the extent that full public consultation and scrutiny is being pushed aside, with the issue of the Island’s Fire Control not due to return to a Full Council Meeting (rather a delegated decision at a future Cabinet Meeting) for full, open and proper debate.
Andrew Cooper, Isle of Wight FBU Fire Control Chairman, “Councillors must provide the public with a full consultation process before making a decision which will affect the safety of all island residents, visitors and businesses. At present Island residents and businesses are being denied the opportunity for such a full public consultation on the issue their local Fire Control. We do not believe island residents will be happy to have their emergency calls to the Fire Service answered in another county. Councillors must now also listen to Firefighters and Firefighters (Control) before making any further decisions on the proposal to have emergency 999 fire calls answered in Reigate, Surrey.
If adopted the level of service received by Island Tax Payers will be inferior to the exemplary and resilient service they currently enjoy.”
Ricky Matthews, Regional Secretary Fire Brigades Union (Southern Region) who also attended the Full Council meeting said “Cllr David Pugh , Cllr Barry Abraham, Cllr Roger Mazillius and this administration appear to be more than happy to accept awards to the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, achieved by the work of Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service staff in moving the service forward and achieving ever higher standards. However, when those same professional Firefighters and Firefighters (Control) are of the strong professional opinion that moving the Island Fire Control Centre will provide an inferior level of service to that currently delivered and increase the life risk to Island residents, visitors, businesses and Firefighters, such views and serious concerns are being sidelined and cast aside.”
Firefighters and Firefighters (Control) urge all Councillors to discover for themselves the true extent to which Firefighters rely on accurate and reliable emergency call information, only truly achievable with local knowledge, which fundamentally affects the safety of island residents, visitors and Firefighters.
Additionally, we urge Island residents and businesses to write to their local County and Parish councillors, as well as Island MP Andrew Turner, to express their views on this naive and ill-conceived proposal.
Councillors should be mindful that in a recent YouGov survey (13th September 2010) eight out of ten (85%) of the public oppose government plans to cut funding in the Fire and Rescue Service.
The proposed closure of the Islands Fire Control is a cut to the Fire Service.
It would appear that Councillors know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
YouGov surveyed 1,020 adults between 16 –27 August 2010. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from a YouGov Plc survey commissioned by The Fire Brigade Union. The survey was carried out online among a nationally representative sample of 1020 adults aged 18+ in the UK between 16-27 August 2010. Data is weighted to be nationally representative based on age, gender, social grade and region.
The Isle of Wight Council are proposing to close the Isle of Wight Fire Control Centre in Newport, Isle of Wight, with the calls answered by the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Control.
Councillors were only given twenty-four hours notice of the additional items on the agenda for the Full Council meeting, including the issue of the Island’s Fire Control Centre.
The FBU understands the issue will now be subject to a ‘full scoping study’, which will take 3-4 months, before being returned to a future Cabinet Meeting (delegated decision). As a result, the closure of the Island’s Fire Control Centre could take place within 8 months (April/May 2011).
Save Isle of Wight Fire Control Campaign website: http://www.firewontwait.com
Contacts:
Andrew Cooper, Chairman, Isle of Wight FBU: 07889 182 762
Paul Watts, Control Staff National Rep. (Southern Region) 07917 065 889
Ricky Matthews, FBU Regional Secretary (Southern Region) 07917 065 863
http://www.fbur12.org.uk
http://www.fbu.org.uk