§ Mr. John TaylorTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will ensure that members of the Fire Brigades Union will have the opportunity to vote in secret ballot on the revised pay and conditions of employment currently on offer to them; and if he will make a statement. [114586]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is pleased that following further discussions between the FBU and the employers the FBU Executive has decided to recommend the employers' final offer to its members. It is for the FBU to decide whether or not to hold a secret ballot of their members on this offer, but we would welcome any decision of theirs to do so. Firefighters should be in no doubt that the employers' final offer of a 16 per cent. pay increase over three years, linked to modernisation, is a generous offer and at the absolute limit of what the employers can afford.