Review says Fire Services need ‘transforming’

An independent review released earlier this month has suggested that the Fire and Rescue Services are out of date and need to be “transformed”. Sir Ken Knight, former chief Fire and Rescue adviser for England, was commissioned by Government ministers in 2012 to conduct a review “of efficiency in the provision of fire and rescue in England” and, as a result, he claims updating the system would make it a lot more effective.

He said that, although there has been a 40% fall in calls to fires, road accidents, flooding and other emergencies, spending and the number of firefighters has remained roughly the same. The reduction in call-outs has been accredited to fire safety campaigns, technological improvements, government building and furniture regulations, and more properties installing high quality fire alarm systems.

Additionally, the number of recorded deaths in accidental fires at home has also dropped – 186 in 2011/12. However, personnel numbers and expenditure has not dropped respectively, a figure Sir Ken Knight proved having 46 separate local authorities was not “sensible”.

Instead, he believes a single, national organisation throughout England would be a much more efficient option. The report suggests that nearly £200 million could be saved each year if changes were implemented, primarily attributing the problem to disproportionate costs throughout local areas.

Currently, some local Fire and Rescue services cost just £26 per resident annually, whilst others cost more than £50. Sir Ken Knight said these “inexplicable” differences could not be related to social or economic factors – including size, population density and affluence.

The report suggests that if those authorities spending above the average found ways to reduce their spending, nearly £200 million could be saved each year. This mirrors Scotland’s Fire and Rescue Service which is already a single organisation and estimates savings of £293 million over 15 years.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has hit back at the report, claiming it is a “fig leaf for slashing our fire and rescue services to bits”. He continued to say that David Cameron’s promise to protect front line services, including Fire and Rescue, has “been exposed as lies”, claiming that over the past three years “the fire service has faced the biggest cuts in history”.

Wrack said these cuts had meant 1,200 firefighters had lost their jobs, something he suggests has resulted in a “poorer service for the public”.

Sir Ken Knight has insisted the review is about updating the Fire and Rescue Service, though, not slashing costs, and has responded to criticism saying: “When I was a firefighter, fire deaths in the home were 700 and 800 a year. Now, they’re 180 a year.”

He continued to say that this was a “really good news story” but meant the service must “adapt and change”.

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, also spoke out at a FBU conference, claiming the reduction in fire-related deaths was due to “preventative work” from firefighters within their local communities. She said that “every part of the country is at risk from this postcode lottery of cuts and closures, declaring that “cuts costs lives”.

Government ministers will now review Sir Ken Knight’s findings and Kay Hammond, chair of the Local Government Association’s fire services management committee, has said the Government “intends to consult fully with the sector before it makes its own response”.

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