Articles and Speeches

Windsor Fire Service Risks
12-Oct-05, Press Release.

Adam Afriyie, Member of Parliament for Windsor today expressed his concern at the announcement by the Office of The Deputy Prime Minister that it is to shut down the local fire control room in Reading, replacing it with a regional call centre based in Hampshire.

These cuts to local fire services have occurred without input from local people, and will mean that 999 calls will be answered up to 75 miles away - by operators who have little knowledge of the Windsor area.  The restructuring process will cost £72 million, diverting resources away from frontline protection.

Mr Afriyie commented: “Despite the rejection of regional government in November’s North East regional referendum, the Government is moving ahead with expensive plans to create new regional fire quangos.

“A remote regional structure may put lives at risk, since 999 operators will have less knowledge of the local Windsor area.”

Notes to Editors
Regionalisation of the fire service
The locations of the new regional fire control rooms were announced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 10 August 2005. http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2005_0168

Following the Government’s Fire & Rescue Services Act 2004, all local fire authorities in England have been allocated to one of the nine Government Office regions, and have been required to form a Regional Management Board.  The Government originally planned that in the event of an elected regional assembly being established, these Management Boards would become regional fire authorities. The Government has told the Management Boards to scrap their existing local control rooms and create a single regional control room in each region.

The Fire Brigades Union have warned that the cuts are “dangerous and irresponsible… to gamble with the efficiency of the fire service at a time when the threat of terrorism makes its efficiency a matter of life and death for all of us is almost criminally irresponsible” (FBU press release, 11 August 2005). http://www.fbu.org.uk/newspress/pressrelease/2005/08_10.php

The Government have stated this restructuring will cost £72 million: “The estimated total net cost to public funds of delivering a national network of nine regional control centres (RCC) for England is approximately £72 million. This covers the costs of setting up the new fire control centres from the start of the project in January 2004 until the last RCC goes live during FY 2008-09” (Hansard, 3 March 2005, col. 1325W)

Locations of new regional control rooms in England outside London

• East of England: Cambridge Research Park, Cambridge. • East Midlands: Willow Farm Business Park, Castle Donington, Leicestershire. • North East: Belmont Business Park, Durham. • North West: Lingley Mere Business Park, Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire. • South West: Blackbrook Business Park, Taunton, Somerset. • South East: the control room location is still being “finalised” according to the ODPM. • West Midlands: Wolverhampton Business Park, Wolverhampton. • Yorkshire & Humberside: Paragon Business Village, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Source: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgipn_id=2005_0168

Locations and staff numbers of existing control rooms in England outside London

Current control rooms Staff employed (full-time equivalents) East of England: six control rooms Kempston, Bedford 25 Huntingdon 31 Hutton (Essex) 44 Hertford 24 Heathersett, Norwich 26 Ipswich 23

East Midlands: five control rooms Littleover, Derby 29 Glenfield, Leicester 31 Lincoln 24 Northampton 26 Arnold, Nottingham 25

North East: four control rooms Hartlepool 25 Durham 28 Morpeth 20 Newcastle upon Tyne 40

North West: five control rooms Winsford 27 Cockermouth 19 Swinton, Manchester 65 Fulwood, Preston 43 Bootle, Liverpool 58

South East: nine control rooms Tilehurst, Reading 34 Aylesbury 20 Eastbourne 26 Eastleigh 38 Newport (Isle of Wight) 12 Tovil, Maidstone 39 Kidlington, Oxford 22 Reigate 29 Chichester 28

South West: seven control rooms Bristol 32 Truro 16 Clyst St. George, Exeter 31 Dorchester 23 Quedgeley, Gloucester 23 Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton 19 Potterne, Devizes 22

West Midlands: five control rooms Worcester 21 Shrewsbury 16 Stone 33 Royal Leamington Spa 18 Birmingham 65

Yorkshire and the Humber: four control rooms Kingston upon Hull 28 Northallerton 22 Sheffield 39 Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire 51

(source: Hansard, 21 December 2004, col. 1560W) http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmhansrd/cm041221/text/41221w12.htm