Fire and Rescue Service (Hansard, 28 May 2004)

§ Mr. Hammond
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consultations he has held since January with Fire Service regional management boards. [176972]

§ Mr. Raynsford
The target date for Fire and Rescue Authorities to establish Regional Management Boards (RMBs) was 1 April 2004, after the most recent consultations—on Fire and Rescue Control Rooms and on Charging by Fire and Rescue Authorities—had already commenced.
However, as joint committees, Regional Management Boards do not directly account to the electorate for the performance of the fire and rescue service. This is the responsibility of their constituent Fire and Rescue Authorities, so the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will continue formally to consult the Authorities on Government proposals.

§ Mr. Hammond
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the legal status is of the Fire Service regional management boards. [176973]

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister understand; that, in accordance with the guidance issued by the Local Government Association in November 2003, Regional Management Boards have been established as joint committees under Sections 101 and 102 of the Local Government Act 1972.

§ Mr. Hammond
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on progress towards establishment of new negotiating machinery within the Fire and Rescue Service. [176974]

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Pay and Conditions Agreement June 2003 between tie Fire Brigades Union and the Local Government Employers stated thatBy 30th November 2003 a working group representative of fire service stakeholders will propose revisions to the Constitution of the NJC.
The time-scale for the work was subsequently extended and a report from Rita Donaghy, chair of ACAS, recommending changes to the National Joint Council's constitution was published on 15 March. Negotiations on this are still continuing.

§ Mr. Hammond
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) if he will make a statement on the merits of(a) giving statutory effect to section IX, paragraph 13 of the Fire and Rescue Service's Grey Book and (b) indemnifying firefighters for loss due to insurance policy exclusions in respect of terrorist incidents following death or injury on duty as methods of resolving the problem faced by firefighters whose insurance contains exclusions relating to activities which they may be required to perform in the course of their dudes;[176994]
(2) if he will indemnify members of fire brigades within defined limits against failure by life or disability insurers to pay out on policies held by firefighters following death or injury on duty on the grounds of policy exclusions in respect of terrorist incidents. [176941]

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Conditions of Service (Grey Book) agreed by the employing authorities and the Fire Brigades' Union provides in Section IX for compensation for death and serious injury on duty. This 257W is no fault compensation and negligence does not have to be proved. It is not appropriate for this to remain as part of the Conditions of Service and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to bring these, together with injury benefits from the firefighters' pension scheme, into a separate death and injury scheme which will be made under clause 33 of the Fire and Rescue Services Bill.
There are provisions within the Conditions of Service and the Firefighters' Pension Scheme that provide for awards in the event of injury or death either occurring in, or as a result of, the exercise of duty. Dependent on the circumstances of an individual, these can provide up to 85% of salary in the event of an injury curtailing earning capacity and up to seven times pensionable pay in the event of death. The latter is more generous than that available to any other public sector worker, including members of the Armed Forces.

§ Mr. Hammond
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his latest estimate is of the total cost of implementing the strategy of regional fire control rooms, including procurements, relocation and redundancy costs. [177001]

§ Mr. Raynsford
The Mott MacDonald report on the "Future of Fire and Rescue Service Control Rooms in England and Wales", published on 11 December 2003, includes estimates of both the number of posts that will no longer be required and redundancy costs. Copies were made available in the Library of the House.
The estimated procurement cost is commercially sensitive information which cannot be released during the current procurement process. As sites for the regional control centres have not yet been chosen, relocation costs cannot yet be known.