§ Mr. FlookTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect on the threat to life1382W from fire of implementing plans for a single control room for the fire and rescue services in the south west region; and if he will make a statement. [164589]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is creating a resilient national network of regional fire and rescue control centres which make possible more effective responses to local, regional or national incidents of significant/substantial scale or complexity. This approach strengthens the ability of the service to maximise national capacity to deal with exceptional call volumes, improve resilience and provide more effective fallback arrangements, and address business continuity requirements. The net effect of the improved arrangements will be a reduction in the threat to life, not just from fire, but from a wide range of other threats, not envisaged when the existing infrastructure for call handling and mobilising was developed.