Fire service did not waste money

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A fire brigade accused of wasting public money after only four of its 16 new appliances entered active service has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Mid and West Wales Fire Service ordered the engines over three years.

Last June, the Fire Brigades Union said the redundant appliances were tying up "scarce capital resources".

But a review by the Auditor General for Wales Jeremy Colman found no evidence that there was a misuse of public funds.

At the time, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said safety had not been affected and its existing fleet was able to do the job, while staff training on new vehicles took time.

The organisation, along with North Wales Fire Service, had seized part-built fire appliances from a manufacturer who was in financial trouble.

'Loss of funds'

The Mid and West Wales service then completed the fitting out of the vehicles at its own workshops.

Following the revelations, Mr Colman carried out a review.

He said: "Mid and West Wales and North Wales Fire and Rescue Services handled a difficult situation well, and protected public resources albeit at the cost of a slight delay in the appliances being ready.

"We have not identified any prima facie evidence that there has been any misuse of public funds, loss of funds, or significant issues within the procurement process."

Mr Colman added that both services seized part-built appliances from a supplier, "which effectively protected public resources when there was a risk of material losses".

He said he found no evidence of problems with the "procurement, misuse of public funds or loss of funds", and "the effect of these events on service delivery appears to have been minimal".

'Public reassured'

Chairman of Mid and West Wales Fire Authority, Councillor Eurfyl Evans, said the audit had proved the service had behaved properly.

He said: "I am glad that, after detailed examination, this audit has proven what we knew all along and that the public can be reassured that we always have their interests at heart."

Information requested by BBC Wales from all three Welsh fire services via a freedom of information request, showed there were no significant delays in north or south Wales brigades bringing new vehicles in to service.

But fire engines belonging to Mid and West Wales - which covers the largest geographical area - had taken longer.