Fire service

HC Deb 02 February 1998 vol 305 cc707-8

6. Mr. Gerrard

If he will make a statement on the fire service settlement for 1998–99. [24617]

Mr. George Howarth

The proposed settlement of 4.8 per cent. for the fire service has been widely welcomed in the fire service community. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions will set out his proposals for a final settlement for the standard spending assessment later today.

Mr. Gerrard

My hon. Friend will be aware that while an extra £4.4 million in London will help to stop some of the most serious cuts, there will still be a difficult financial situation for the London fire and civil defence authority. There may still be some cuts and the possibility of station closures. Will my hon. Friend tell us what further steps he may be able to take to help the authority get out of the difficulties? Will he look especially at the fire service pension scheme, which was allowed to run into crisis by the previous Government? It is one of the root causes of the present financial difficulties.

Mr. Howarth

The settlement that we have proposed compares favourably with that proposed by the previous Government, who over the past three years announced settlements of 4.2, 1.5 and 0 per cent. respectively.

My hon. Friend is right to say that there have been concerns. Indeed, a section 19 application is currently under consideration by Her Majesty's chief inspector in respect of London. When I receive the inspector's recommendations on station closures and the arrangements for the Thames, they will be given serious consideration.

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I have said repeatedly that we will not take any decisions that place the London public in danger of being in any way damaged or injured by fire, and that consideration will be uppermost in our minds.

There is concern throughout the country—not only in London—about the pension scheme and the costs involved. The previous Government set up a review and I hope shortly to publish the results of it, but there is no easy solution to the difficulties facing the fire service pension fund—and, for that matter, the police service pension fund.

Sir Sydney Chapman

Does the Minister agree with—or will he dissociate himself from—the remarks made by the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union in the latest edition of "Firefighter", who said many…fire authorities simply do not have the financial resources to provide a safe and effective service for the public"? Will the Minister confirm that any fire station closure or appliance relocation could be done only with the approval of the Home Secretary, and even then only when he is satisfied that there will be no loss of safety or effectiveness to the public?

Mr. Howarth

Yes. Her Majesty's chief inspector examines every proposal and advises the Home Secretary and me—on every occasion—whether it is safe to go ahead with it. Whatever the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union may have said, the fire services are in quite good shape—and in even better shape since we announced last December the best settlement that they have had for many years.