| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Sackville: Those are operational matters that have to be considered when deciding whether it is possible to make reductions in the number of appliances in an area. Those matters form part of the review, and they have not come before my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State. I have already explained what considerations need to take place if they do, but the review has been carried out by the professionals and they have decided, as the hon. Lady has already spelled out, that Downham station and three others should be closed. That is the proposal in their review. They also recommend that other stations can be reduced from two appliances to one without reducing cover below the designated standards.
Mr. Spearing: There will be half the cover if it is reduced.
Mr. Sackville: Those standards are not just nationally recommended. They are nationally agreed in the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, which was established by the 1947 Act and on which the relevant fire service organisations are represented. They were also extensively reviewed by the joint committee on standards of fire cover in 1985 for the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Councils of England and Wales and for Scotland. The standards enable all those involved to be aware of the minimum level of service that they should deliver.
The Audit Commission's report called for greater local flexibility in the application of fire cover standards. The commission did not say exactly how the standards should be changed and recognised that no change should be considered without careful research. The issue is being
considered by the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, but it is a complex matter on which much work will be needed.
Following the 1985 review, all fire authorities in Great Britain reviewed their risk categorisation and the resources necessary to comply. Authorities update those reviews regularly to take account of local circumstances. As has already been said, London currently has 113 stations with 189 pumping appliances. Currently,76 stations have two appliances, and 37 have one. The on-going review process in London has recommended the closure of Downham fire station and three others, and the removal of one pumping appliance from each of22 stations which have two at present.
The review has also recommended that an additional appliance be provided at two stations that have only one, and proposes that the authority seek to develop new fire stations at Heathrow, Surrey Quays and Isle of Dogs. In respect of the proposed reductions, a report by the authority--I have already quoted this, but I will tell the House again--states that those changes can be made without affecting the authority's ability to meet Home Office recommended attendance times.
Mrs. Prentice:
The chief fire officer said that, but he also said--it is only fair that the House should know--that the changes would seriously reduce the present service.
Mr. Sackville:
The chief fire officer has to consider whether to recommend that the overall cover would continue to meet the minimum standards. That is a technical matter, and he must consider any proposals that the authority makes.
The proposals are reflected in the authority's review by its professional staff. In the case of Downham station, the review clearly considered that its ground could be covered by surrounding stations, while still maintaining the nationally recommended minimum standards of fire cover. It does not envisage that the increased work loads on surrounding stations would be unacceptable.
I am aware that the authority has consulted on the recommendations. It is not for me to comment about the consultation exercise or the recommendations in the review. That is a matter for the authority to judge. I know that the authority proposes to take decisions about the fire cover review later this month in the course of meetings.I am sure that the authority will give careful consideration to the points that the hon. Lady has raised tonight.
Question put and agreed to.
1 Feb 1996 : Column 1223Adjourned accordingly at twenty-nine minutes past Ten o'clock.
| Index | Home Page |