Shropshire Star

Shropshire fire service takeover would cost jobs, says report

A significant number of fire service jobs would be lost in Shropshire if crime commissioner John Campion's takeover bid is successful, a report has claimed.

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Shropshire Fire & Rescue Authority has backed the findings of the report, which was commissioned to examine West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner Mr Campion's business case for taking over the governance of the county's fire service.

Mr Campion wants to become commissioner of Shropshire Fire and Rescue, and Worcester and Herefordshire fire services, and to combine the role with his current post. He has claimed the move could save a combined £4 million for the organisations.

A report approved by Shropshire Fire Authority at an extraordinary meeting yesterday warns of potential job losses if the move is approved, and of "seven figure costs" for staffing changes.

The report from Ameo and Alendi consultants states: "We have been unable to reconcile the declared savings with the options proposed without significant headcount reductions."

Potential transition costs are also highlighted in the report which states: "Given the limited information presented on the end-state and timescales we would expect to see transition costs relating to: Redundancy, pension strain and /or relocation costs; these are likely to run to a seven-figure sum given staff numbers involved."

The report dismisses a suggestion that success of fire prevention schemes in reducing incidents makes it "harder to justify the scale of the organisation" and instead stresses the focus must be on risk and not demand.

The report states: "The reality of fire and emergency incidents means that fire and rescue services, unlike many public services, are risk driven rather than demand led. This means that even in areas of infrequent incidents a level of cover is required to manage any risk that may arise.

"Delays lead to a greater severity of risk, be that a growing fire or an escalating hazardous materials incident. Hence Hereford & Worcester Fire & Rescue Service and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service both set response target times and deploy their resources to maximise a rapid response even in relatively low risk areas.

"The initial business case argues the success of fire and rescue services in reducing calls means maintaining cover is harder to justify. This assumes a demand led approach rather than the reality of FRS operations."

The report also indicates that joint governance is more suited to the fire service and the ambulance service than the police.

It states: "It is not without significance that in no other Western country are police and fire jointly managed in this way. Much more prevalent is the combination of fire and emergency medical services. Police quite rightly focus on crime and law enforcement and so the overlap with fire service operations is limited."

The report will now be sent to Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Council's to form part of their official response to the consultation

Mr Campion has previously argued that his plans would allow the service to improve.

John Campion hits back over 'hatchet job'

He said: "I find it surprising that the fire authorities feel comfortable putting their faith in a piece of work that was commissioned, researched, written and presented in the space of a few short weeks, when they have roundly criticised the initial business case which took many months of extensive research, consultation and analysis to develop.

"There was absolutely no need for this report to be completed within such a short time-frame; a time-frame that allowed for just a single phone call between my office and the consultants. As a result, I feel the report misunderstands key points, contradicts itself, and ignores key parts of the debate, which are clearly addressed in the initial business case.

"The hasty approach taken and conclusions reached reinforce my concerns that this exercise was simply a hatchet job, designed to support opinions that are already fully formed."

However, Mr Campion said he did welcome some aspects of the report, which highlighted that collaboration between the police and fire service could improve.

He said: "I welcome the fact that this analysis supports the principles that collaboration between our fire services and our police force is not as good as it could be, and that changes to the current governance arrangements could be beneficial.

"My priority around this exercise is purely about ensuring our communities get the best possible services and this report makes it increasingly clear that is not the situation at the moment.”

“The Fire Authorities have done a good job up to now, but I would stress that this is not about politics, personalities, personal reward, empire building or empire protecting. This is about delivering the best possible services to the public.”