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THE SALAMANDER | JULY 2018
Page 12
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
FireAuthoritymetonThursday(May
24) and agreed to issue a claim for
a judicial review to challenge the
Home Office’s decision to transfer
governance of the fire service to
the police and crime commissioner.
Members have taken legal advice
and believe there has been no
evidencepresented todemonstrate
a business case for the change.
Chairman of the Fire Authority,
Councillor Kevin Reynolds said:
“We have given this careful
consideration since the decision
was first announced by the
Home Office in March. We have
requested additional information
from the Home Office about the
rationale behind the decision and
we have sought legal advice.
“The fire authority and fire and
rescue service work extremely
well together under the current
governance model and continually
perform well. No reason has been
demonstrated as to why a change
in governance will bring any
substantial benefits. Having taken
legal advice, we have decided to
challenge the decision by making
a claim for a judicial review.”
The Fire Authority (FA) was formed
in 1998 to govern Cambridgeshire
Fire and Rescue Service (FRS)
when Peterborough became a
unitary authority. Prior to that,
the county council had been
responsible for the county’s fire
service. Seventeen members
– 13 from Cambridgeshire
County Council and four from
Peterborough City Council –
make up the Fire Authority.
Since 1998, with the Fire Authority
at the helm, the fire service
has continuously been one of
the lowest cost fire and rescue
services in the country, and scored
well in the various assessments
and inspections that have taken
place by both government
appointed bodies and peers.
In more recent years, the
Authority has navigated its way
through two comprehensive
spending reviews where it has
needed to find over £7million
of savings to meet a reduction
in government funding and has
done this successfully whilst
maintaining frontline services
and still improving equipment
and vehicles for firefighters.
In the last 14 years alone, fires
have reduced by 48 per cent and
people are safer in their homes
with a 44 per cent reduction
in accidental fires, a 61 per
cent reduction in casualties
from fires and a 68 per cent
reduction in deliberate fires in our
communities.
Fire Authority to seek judicial review
Cambridgeshire FA
Dated 25th May 2018
Cambridgeshire
Fire
and
Rescue Service (FRS) held a
“Safety Zone” last week at St
Neots Fire Station. The five day
multi-agency event for local
primary schools was attended
by approximately 500 school
children aged between eight
and nine, and gives them vital
information on how to keep safe.
The children took part in fun
activities and demonstrations
provided by Cambridgeshire
Fire
and
Rescue
service,
Cambridgeshire
Constabulary,
Cambridgeshire County Council
Trading Standards & Road Safety
Team andWood Green theAnimals
Charity to deliver the important
messages to youngsters.
Different agencies set up ‘zones’
which small groups of children
visited to learn about a specific area
of safety, including water safety,
home fire safety, the importance
of wearing a seat belt, first aid,
dangerous toys, how to approach
a dog safely and internet safety.
Jill Gibbs, Community Fire
Safety Officer in St Neots, said:
“The Safety Zone is a great
way of engaging young people
in our community in a fun and
interactive way and we’re thrilled
to host it again this year. This is a
great partnership between many
services and agencies all working
together to make our communities
safer places, and feedback from
the schools who’ve attended has
been fantastic.”
This is the third Safety Zone
of the year, and further events
will be held later in the year in
Peterborough and Ramsey.
St Neots Fire Station welcomes over 500 children for “Safety Zone”
Cambridgeshire FRS
Dated 31st May 2018