The FBU is disappointed in the decision of the Home Office of approving transfer of governance for Cumbria Fire and Rescue to the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Peter McCall.
This political decision is being made by central government and disregards the will of the Cumbrian communities who voted against the proposal, undermining democracy within the county. The consultation held with the Cumbria communities showed that 54% of those responding wanted a democratically elected and accountable fire and rescue authority rather than being taken over by Peter McCall as the PCC.
The fact that this consultation has been ignored sets the direction regarding any future consultations issued by the PCC. We do not doubt that fire station closures will happen and firefighter jobs slashed in the coming years and if the PCC can ignore the will of the people of Cumbria now, how can they possibly protect their communities and local fire stations in the future?
It sets aside any notion of the government’s so called levelling up agenda.
Peter McCall has still stated that unless the funding for fire is there, he will not take it on. We will hopefully see a sudden and significant investment in the fire and rescue service in Cumbria and while our members have done a fantastic job of holding the fire and rescue service together, the Tory governments incessant attacks on our industry, including Cumbria, means we need better response times, more firefighters and safer procedures crewing fire appliances with enough firefighters to do our job as safely as possible.
Fire Brigades Union executive council member for the North West, Les Skarratts said:
“If the PCC still wishes to continue with this takeover, and even at this late stage we would ask him to reconsider, we will obviously engage and talk with him to attempt to progress the transfer without further detriment to our members or the public.”
