§ John McDonnellTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what reasons underlie(a) his proposal to remove his functions under section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947 and (b) his decision not to seek to amend section 19. [100716]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe proposed amendment of section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947— subsections 19(1) and (2) will be retained—is an essential element of the new framework for a modern fire service set out by the Independent Review of the Fire Service, chaired by Professor Sir George Bain. As the Review identified, the primary objective must be to make the service more responsive to local needs and better placed to deliver community safety. Moving to a flexible risk-based approach to fire cover, as part of a new integrated risk management planning process, offers a real prospect of reducing the incidence of fire, and deaths and injuries from fire, as well as from other threats to community1252W safety. The repeal, rather than amendment, of part of section 19 will assist the early implementation of this approach.
The proposed repeal is also consistent with the principle of cutting back on consent regimes and red tape set out in the White Paper "Strong Local Leadership—Quality Public Services", published in December 2001. Repeal will place responsibility for decisions on local fire cover with democratically accountable local authorities, after consultation with their local communities.