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Fire service in England needs transforming, says report Fire and rescue services in England should merge, says report
(about 4 hours later)
Fire and rescue services in England should be "transformed" to operate more efficiently and save £200m, according to a report by the former chief fire and rescue adviser for England. Ministers should consider replacing the 46 local fire and rescue authorities in England with a single national organisation – as has happened in Scotland – according to a review of the £2.2bn-a-year emergency service.
In the past decade there has been a 40% reduction in call-outs and incidents, and accidental deaths from domestic fires have reached an all-time low – yet expenditure and firefighter numbers have remained broadly the same. Mergers, privatisation, staff-led mutual organisations, sharing of stations with police and ambulance "blue light" operations, and greater use of part-time, on-call firefighters are among other options floated by Sir Ken Knight, the country's former chief fire and rescue adviser. He also said he would back a trial of whether police and crime commissioners could take responsibility for fire and rescue services in their areas.
The report concludes that having 46 separate fire authorities was not sensible and that one option is to create a new single fire service for England similar to that in Scotland. Despite a 40% fall in calls to fires, road accidents, flooding and other emergencies in the past decade and deaths in accidental fires at home – 186 recorded in 2011/12 – being at an all-time low, spending and firefighter numbers remained broadly the same, says the government-commissioned report.
The independent report by Sir Ken Knight finds that services continue to spend according to the budget they are given rather than the risks they have to manage. Significant variations exist between how the 46 different fire authorities operate, with the cost per head of providing a service almost double in some areas to that of others, the report says. Nearly £200m a year could be saved if costs in the most expensive authorities could be cut to the average. Some services cost only £26 per resident a year; others more than £50. These "inexplicable" differences did not seem to be related to how densely populated, small or affluent the areas they served were.
It goes on to say that this does not seem to be related to whether they are large or small, rural or urban, deprived or affluent. The report says "local politics and the public's seemingly unconditional attachment to the fire and rescue service can act as constraints on really pursuing the most efficient ways of working, holding on to outdated configuration or location of fire stations and fire appliances rather than changing service delivery to improve overall outcomes".
The report says that if those authorities spending above the average found ways to reduce their spending to the national average, then the money saved or reinvested could amount to nearly £200m per year. Knight also said that any rise in privatisation or mutualisation should be accompanied by an independent regulator and inspectorate since there would be public concern that "involving a company, however it is run, in the delivery of frontline emergency services brings a risk of a 'profit over lives' mentality".
The report notes that the 46 fire and rescue authorities across England each have their own management structures, senior leaders and operational differences. This often leads to widespread duplication and demonstrates the potential for closer co-operation and reconfiguration of services, the report says. Increasing the percentage nationally of on-call, or what in one media interview Knight called "pay-as-you-go" , firefighters from 30% to 40% could bring annual savings of up to £123m. He said reductions in emergency incidents represented "a good news story" and fire and rescue services had played a pivotal role in this as they moved from predominantly emergency response organisations to organisations that reduce risk.
In conducting the review, Knight also found that fire and rescue authorities had high levels of capital reserves. But societal changes, technological improvements, greater smoke-alarm ownership, safety campaigns and government regulations for buildings and furniture had also played a huge part. "Despite these changes, no similar significant change in the make-up or cost of the service has taken place. Fire and rescue services do now need to transform themselves to reflect the entirely different era of risk and demand they now operate in."
Between 2008 and 2012, total reserves held by standalone fire and rescue authorities increased from just over £200m to more than £400m – the report says this highlights the potential for investing in spend-to-save type projects. Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said the review was "just a fig leaf for slashing our fire and rescue service to bits".
In December, the fire minister, Brandon Lewis, asked Knight to carry out an independent review into the ways in which fire and rescue authorities might deliver further efficiencies and operational improvements without reducing the quality of frontline services. He added: "David Cameron has promised to protect frontline services. That has been exposed as a lie over the past three years as the fire service has faced the biggest cuts in its history. It is not just the Fire Brigades Union warning about this. Increasingly others in the fire service, including chief officers, are concerned over our ability to deliver this essential service.
Knight said: "As a firefighter for over 40 years I know the Fire and Rescue service in and out. I know firefighters care deeply about public safety and do the best possible job. "Fire stations are being closed and fire engines are being axed. Last year alone a further 1,200 firefighter jobs were cut. All these cuts mean a poorer service for the public. They mean waiting longer for a fire engine if you have a fire or other emergency.
"I've seen their capacity to adapt, even in the most trying of circumstances, but my report highlights that there is much more that can be done by the service leaders to make the service as effective and efficient as possible." "Ken Knight is attempting to bury all these facts in order to justify further cuts in the government's forthcoming spending review."
He said there was a real opportunity to save public money while maintaining the quality of service.
"Government and the 46 fire and rescue authorities should use it to decide how to transform the service to reflect the modern and safer world we live in today."
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