Crime tsar won’t take on fire role

Unveiling the plans while Home Secretary, Theresa May said they would “bring greater accountability to the work of local fire and rescue services where it is taken up and provide stronger leadership in keeping the public safe”.

Some police commissioners, whose role involves holding their local police force to account and hiring or firing the chief constable, have already indicated they would like to take advantage of the new powers.

Last October, a report written by North Yorkshire’s Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan suggested that the most senior police and fire officers in North Yorkshire could be brought together in one body overseeing both 999 services, to help save millions of pounds a year.

But Mark Burns-Williamson, her counterpart in West Yorkshire, says he does not intend to take over the governance of his local fire service.

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, whose police force has been beset by controversy in recent years, has now suggested that he is not interested in overseeing the county’s fire brigade.

He wrote in his police and crime plan, which sets out his priorities for the next four years: “I told the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority I do not intend to add ‘Fire’ to my job description at the present time, though pressure from the Government may mean I have to revisit this in the future.

“I suggested in the first instance we form a new joint committee to allow a more co-ordinated approach to how we work more closely together.

“This body could look at buildings, procurement and workforce matters to get greater efficiencies and effectiveness in both organisations.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said in a statement: “It is not my intention to seek to take over the governance of the fire service from the current fire authority, as outlined in the Police and Crime Act 2016.

“I will, however, work in conjunction with them and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Trust to deliver an improved service to the public of West Yorkshire through the efficiencies that can be delivered by collaborative working.

“A partnership board which includes representatives from Fire and Rescue, Police and Ambulance services across West Yorkshire has been put together to look for further potential opportunities of collaboration.

“These are challenging times with significant cuts to our budgets, but this approach offers the potential to achieve greater value for money as we work to deliver a more effective level of service to people across West Yorkshire.”

In his police and crime plan, which was discussed at a scrutiny meeting on Friday, Dr Billings said 2016 had been a difficult time for South Yorkshire Police.

Chief Constable David Crompton was forced to resign over comments made about the Hillsborough inquests, and his successor Dawn Copley lasted only a day before standing down after it emerged she was under investigation for alleged misconduct.

A POLICE and crime commissioner in Yorkshire has warned he does not want to take responsibility for his local fire brigade but admitted that he may be pressured by the Government into changing his position.

The Policing and Crime Bill, which became law earlier this year, allows for elected crime commissioners to take on a similar oversight and budget-setting role responsibility for fire services. These are challenging times with significant cuts to our budgets.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson