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Clause 2
Amendments made: No. 7, in page 2, line 40, leave out 'may' and insert 'must'.
No. 8, in page 2, line 42, at end insert—
'(8A) The Secretary of State is not required to cause an inquiry to be held under subsection (8) (but may do so) if—
(a) in a case within subsection (8)(a), the existing authorities in question agree to the making of the scheme,
(b) in a case within subsection (8)(b), the combined fire and rescue authority and any other authority which would, apart from the scheme, be a fire and rescue authority under section 1 and which would be affected by the variation or revocation, agree to the variation or revocation,
(c) in either case, it appears to the Secretary of State that the scheme, variation or revocation is to be made solely for the purpose of giving effect to an order under Part 4 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c.70), Part 2 of the Local Government Act 1992 (c.19) or section 17 of the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 (c.10), or
(d) in either case, the Secretary of State considers that, in the interests of public safety, the scheme should be made, varied or revoked without delay.'.—[Phil Hope.]
Clause 4
Amendments made: No. 9, in page 4, line 22, after '(4)', insert 'varying or'.
No. 10, in page 4, line 23, leave out 'may' and insert 'must'.
No. 11, in page 4, line 23, at end insert—
'(7) The Secretary of State is not required to cause an inquiry to be held under subsection (6) (but may do so) if—
(a) the combined authority and any other authority which would, apart from the scheme, be a fire and rescue authority under section 1 and which would be affected by the variation or revocation, agree to the variation or revocation,
(b) it appears to the Secretary of State that the scheme is to be varied or revoked solely for the purpose of giving effect to an order made under Part 4 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c.70), Part 2 of the Local Government Act 1992 (c.19) or section 17 of the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 (c.10), or
(c) the Secretary of State considers that, in the interests of public safety, the scheme should be varied or revoked without delay.'.—[Phil Hope.]
Clause 19
Amendments made: No. 12, in page 9, line 10, leave out subsection (2) and insert—
'(2) An order under subsection (1) may authorise charging for extinguishing fires, or protecting life and property in the event of fires, only in respect of fires which are at sea or under the sea.
(2A) An order under subsection (1) may not authorise charging for emergency medical assistance.'.
No. 13, in page 9, line 29, at end insert—
'(8) The references in subsection (2) to [odq]sea[cdq] are not restricted to the territorial sea of the United Kingdom.'.—[Phil Hope.]
Order for Third Reading read.
9.13 pm
Mr. Raynsford: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
Let me remind the House of the key measures contained in the Fire and Rescue Services Bill that will help to make the service a better service for the public, and better for those who work within it. This is, as all hon. Members will be aware, the first major legislation on fire and rescue matters for 57 years. It comes after a long period in which the fire and rescue service performed its traditional functions with creditable efficiency, commanding the confidence of the public and ensuring a swift response to fires where they broke out. However, it was also a period in which there was a growing awareness of the need for the service to undertake a more extensive role. First, it began to be increasingly involved in other areas of emergency work, notably road traffic accidents. Secondly, it became increasingly conscious of the importance of prevention. We now know that however good a fire brigade is at responding to the threat of fires when they occur and getting to the scene of fires quickly—the brigades are extremely good and perform with commendable courage and commitment in discharging those responsibilities—we know also that in too many instances people die unnecessarily because they are overwhelmed before a fire brigade can reach them, and in many cases before the fire brigade is even alerted. That emphasises the importance of a greater focus on fire prevention and measures to avoid unnecessary fires occurring in the first place.
It is right that new legislation should put a strong focus on helping to save more lives and to create safer communities. It should contain a new duty on all fire and rescue authorities to promote fire safety. It should give greater encouragement to fire and rescue authorities to work constructively within their communities to identify risks and to ensure that effective preventive measures are in place.
It is vital also that the fire and rescue service should recognise the much wider responsibilities to which fire brigades respond as a matter of course in dealing with road traffic accidents and major emergencies alongside traditional firefighting. It is important also that we recognise the growing importance of provision to underpin national resilience, through powers to ensure a co-ordinated and strategic response by fire and rescue authorities to specific emergencies, including flooding on a massive scale, a major terrorist incident or catastrophic fires.
Mr. Redwood: Does the Minister think that the world would be a better place if more authorities charged for rescuing cats and dogs, or fewer?
Mr. Raynsford: The right hon. Gentleman has raised an interesting issue that I shall address briefly later in my speech. The world will be a better place as a result of the Bill, which will put far greater emphasis on the
importance of fire safety and fire prevention work. That is the ultimate objective if we are to save lives and avoid unnecessary fires. Issues about whether charges should be made for certain relatively small aspects of the work of fire and safety services are second-order questions. I shall return to them, but the more important objectives of saving lives, of preventing unnecessary fire and of reducing the number of people whose lives are either ended or blighted by unnecessary fires or other disasters are the priorities that the Government consider to be fundamental.The Bill will ensure that the fire and rescue service has a clear sense of direction and the means to deliver it. The measure will give statutory force to the fire and rescue national framework, which provides, as has been demonstrated in this evening's debates, the national leadership that was called for so clearly by the independent review of the fire service, which was chaired by Sir George Bain. The review highlighted the failures over many years, and of successive Governments, to address the needs for change in the service and the need to give leadership. We have recognised that responsibility to effect change and to introduce new arrangements that give a proper sense of direction and a momentum for change to the fire and rescue service.
Through our new intervention powers, we shall be able to ensure that fire and rescue authorities act in accordance with the requirement of the national framework and that there are safeguards in place against a failure to provide the necessary arrangements to underpin national resilience and public safety.
Mr. Swire: Before the Minister rubbishes the Fire Brigades Union, which I am sure that he will not, does he recognise that it says that there are some positive steps contained within the Bill? However, it goes on to say that, basically, the underlying proposals
- "downgrade the rescue role of the fire service and produce cuts across the service under the guise of local Integrated Risk Management plans."
Mr. Raynsford: The hon. Gentleman is speaking as if the events of the past two years never took place. He may have been oblivious to what happened, but most hon. Members know perfectly well that there was a difficult and controversial dispute and that inevitably the FBU took up positions that were not wholly supportive of the Government's position. We nevertheless are driving forward a reform agenda that aims both to improve the quality of the fire services and their effectiveness in preventing fires and enhance their well-earned reputation for bravery and effectiveness in dealing with fires and putting them out. The Government have never done anything other than salute the courage and commitment of fire service workers who do a difficult and dangerous job very well. However, it is important to look at ways in which we can make it easier to prevent fires and, by doing so, reduce the risk that firefighters face when they respond to fires.
As for the hon. Gentleman's regional fantasies, an extraordinary characteristic of all our debates has been the Conservatives' Pavlovian response as soon as the word "region" is mentioned. They behave as if they are puppets manipulated by someone who wants to continue dancing to the UK Independence party tune, but we are sensible, pragmatic and forward-looking in our approach, and are not affected by the dogma that the Opposition unfortunately—
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