Beverley MP calls for major shake-up in way fire service is managed
BEVERLEY and Holderness MP Graham Stuart says he supports the idea of handing the oversight of the region’s fire service to a police and crime commissioner.
The government is currently consulting on whether to scrap the long-established network of local fire authorities across England and Wales. They are made up of councillors from neighbouring council areas.
They have powers to raise annual precepts through council tax charges, appoint chief fire officers and set budgets. In the case of the
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, membership of the authority is drawn from all four local councils around the Humber estuary. It was originally created in 1974 as part of a major re-organisation of local government
However, the current government consultation partly triggered by the Grenfell Tower tragedy is looking at proposals to transfer governance arrangements to a single elected individual, such as a metro mayor, a council leader or a new-look police and fire commissioner. Ministers claim the move would “maintain and enhance public accountability” of the fire service.
Mr Stuart said he had written to current Conservative Humberside PCC Jonathan Evison outlining his support for a shake-up in the political oversight of the fire service. In the letter, he cited the improved performance of Humberside Police over the last six years under PCC governance as an example of how the fire service could prosper under the same system.
He said: “Jonathan Evision is doing a great job as Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner, Humberside
Police is performing well, and I am confident he would provide equally strong leadership to Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.”
He also highlighted a pilot scheme launched in 2017 which saw four areas of the country take up the option of a single governance model.
“According to a report published in 2021, the elected Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners are providing stronger local accountability, public engagement, value for money and greater levels of collaboration. This is strong evidence for a move to a new model of governance,” he added.