Page 12 - July 2017

THE SALAMANDER | JULY 2018
Fire Authority to seek judicial review
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority met on Thursday (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 evidence presented to demonstrate 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 reductionindeliberatefiresinour communities.
St Neots Fire Station welcomes over 500 children for “Safety Zone”
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 informationonhowtokeepsafe. 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 and Wood Green the Animals Charity to deliver the important messages to youngsters.
Different agencies set up ‘zones’ which small groups of children visitedtolearnaboutaspecificarea 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.
Cambridgeshire FRS Dated 31st May 2018
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Cambridgeshire FA Dated 25th May 2018