Fire Service College (Hansard, 6 March 1997)

§ Baroness Blatch

The Fire Service College, as the central training establishment for the fire service, makes a very important contribution to promoting effective and efficient firefighting and fire safety arrangements in the United Kingdom, and thus maintaining public safety. Its financial regime and targets need to assist it to continue to discharge this role effectively and to secure value for money but the present arrangements are not achieving this. Despite the considerable efforts of the present management team, the college has not yet been able to realise the benefits which its position as a trading fund ought to offer.

The college's corporate aim is to remain the pre-eminent higher education college for fire-related training and for promoting fire safety awareness. To help secure the future of the college and to assist it in achieving its corporate and business objectives, my right honourable friend has therefore decided to make changes to its present financial structure. He proposes to seek parliamentary approval for the payment of a grant of £13.5 million to the college. This will enable it immediately to pay off the deemed loan part of the originating capital debt when it was established as a trading fund in 1992. It will save the college £1.3 million in annual interest payments. My right honourable friend also proposes in 1997–98 to pay to 140WA the college a separate grant of £1.3 million so that it can continue to provide essential training courses for the fire service.

These measures will make a step change in the college's finances. They demonstrate the Government's firm commitment to securing an effective and well trained fire service.

But the future success of the college should not—and cannot—be dependent on the Government alone. It is crucially dependent on the support of its fire service customers and the college's own efforts. Fire authorities must continue to be willing to make a proper investment in the training of their brigades and to take advantage of the facilities, skills and high quality training opportunities which the college is able to offer. The college has to give priority to ensuring that the training needs of the fire service are clearly identified and effectively met. It should exploit innovative training developments. It must also continue its programme of improvements in business efficiency, to ensure high quality management and financial control and so that any ongoing requirement for assistance through Home Office grant can progressively be reduced.