Select Committee on Communities and Local Government Committee Fourth Report

1  Introduction

1. The Government set out its ambitions for reform and modernisation of the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) in the 2003 White Paper, Our Fire and Rescue Service.[1] These proposals were given legislative effect by the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, which imposed a challenging programme of change on the FRS. Our predecessor committee produced a report, The Fire Service, in 2004 which examined the aims of the 2003 White Paper and how they might be achieved.[2] Our report examines the progress made since the White Paper and subsequent Act.

The Bain Review and the 2003 White Paper

2. The White Paper was the culmination of numerous reviews of the FRS, most notably that chaired by Sir George Bain in 2002.[3] Six key themes of the White Paper were identified by the Deputy Prime Minister in a statement to the House:

• An emphasis on emergency as well as firefighting, with resources better allocated on the basis of risk;
• A more coherent regional approach to fire and rescue;
• Institutional changes to improve the management of the service;
• Improved scrutiny and inspection, in consultation with the Audit Commission, as the Bain Review advised;
• Reform of the machinery for negotiating pay and conditions, and
• Modernisation of personnel management arrangements of the service.[4]

Legislative reform

3. As our predecessor Committee noted, there had been a number of reviews and recommendations regarding the FRS since the 1970s but few resulted in any significant change.[5] The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 finally provided a legislative basis for reform. The Act incorporated the word 'rescue' into the title of the service, recognising and giving statutory effect to duties already carried out by the FRS, such as assistance with road traffic incidents. Furthermore, the Act placed a duty on the FRS to promote safety and facilitated this by making provision for collaboration with partners in the local community. Statutory provision was also made for an increased FRS role in responding to terrorist threats and other major incidents, such as flooding. Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) were given discretion to plan, equip and take action to meet local risks and priorities. The 2004 Act requires the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to produce an annual Fire and Rescue National Framework, which provides national strategic direction to the FRS, and has statutory force.[6] The FRS also has new responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

Implementation of change

4. As a result of legislation, the FRS is undergoing significant changes, especially:

• The introduction of Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMPs) produced by all FRAs and setting out policies and plans for resource allocation based on local risk assessments;
• greater Community Fire Safety Work including initiatives such as the Home Fire Risk Check Initiative;
• the creation of Regional Management Boards (RMBs);
• the creation of regional fire control centres (FiReControl - initiated in 2004, targeted for completion in 2009);
• the FireLink project which will provide a new radio system for the whole FRS (targeted for completion in 2009);
• the closure of Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate (HMFSI) in 2007;
• Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) of all fire authorities conducted by the Audit Commission (from 2005 onwards);
• the establishment of the Practitioner Forum, the Business and Community Safety Forum, the IRMP Steering Group, the Central Local Partnership Fire and Rescue Service sub-group (CLP) and the Ministerial Sounding Board to provide advice to Government officials. The Practitioner Forum also advises FRAs, and the CLP acts as a vehicle for consultation and policy discussion between central and local Government;
• the New Dimension project which provides central funding to purchase equipment for major incidents;
• the establishment of FiReBuy Ltd. as the national procurement body for the FRS, and
• a review of the FRS's main negotiating body, the National Joint Council (NJC).

Terms of reference of the inquiry

5. We announced our inquiry in November 2005. We decided to exclude the substantial and controversial subject of industrial relations. Rather, our inquiry examined specifically:

• the implications for citizens and the Fire and Rescue Service of:
  • the introduction of Regional Control Centres, and
  • the introduction of and implementation process for FireLink radio services;
• the progress made on Fire and Rescue Services reform since the publication of the Government's White Paper of June 2003, Our Fire and Rescue Service, and the Committee's own report on the topic, The Fire Service, of January 2004. In particular, issues such as:
  • fire prevention
  • institutional arrangements and reform, including transitional arrangements and finance, and
  • promoting diversity within the Fire and Rescue Service, and
• joint working between the Fire and Rescue Service and other emergency services.

We also had particular regard to 'civil resilience' as far as it relates to the Fire Service.

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1   Our Fire and Rescue Service, Cm 5808, June 2003 (hereafter Cm 5808). Back

2   The Fire Service, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee, Third Report, Session 2003-04, HC 43 (hereafter HC 43). Back

3   The Future of the Fire Service: reducing risk, saving lives ('the Bain Review'), 16 December 2002. Back

4   HC Deb, 30 June 2003, cols 21-24. Back

5   HC 43, para 5. Back

6   The ODPM has since been succeeded by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Back

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Prepared 12 July 2006