FOLLOWING the recent announcement from the Prime Minister that he is changing fire and rescue services from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) over to the Home Office, I believe as a local authority – which is currently consulting on service cuts in line with the DCLG financial package – we need to know what this change means both to Northumberland fire and rescue service and to the people of the county who are campaigning to keep their community fire stations open.

Council cutbacks from DCLG have forced us as a unitary authority to find additional revenue support from council reserves since 2013 to keep up staffing and property levels for the service.

The ability to continue that level of support is no longer available and we find ourselves in a consultation period in order to drive forward council thinking on revenue – the money which pays for service delivery – to either make cutbacks in the fire and rescue service or cutback other essential services.

In order to colour our ideas as we work on crucial budget decisions, we need to know what the Government’s massive change means?

Does it mean that money will be made immediately available by the Home Office to run fire and rescue services, allowing them to safeguard fire stations until they do their own review?

Or does it mean that they will expect the council to pass this service between Government departments in a cut down manner, as DCLG funded council services find themselves in a position of relative safety and not exposed to challenge through the pressures on the fire and rescue budgets for 2016/7 financial year?

Or does the move to the Home Office mean that, like the police, fire and rescue services are no longer subject to the latest round of DCLG cuts in budget, which the Chancellor highlighted in the autumn statement?

In Northumberland we have first-hand experience of the Coalition’s Home Office workforce reform through the privatisation of HMP Northumberland. This was a cost cutting exercise for Government that now relies on rent and council tax support for prison workers, causing a further drain on council resources.

COUN. GRANT DAVEY,

Leader of Northumberland County Council