Dr Neil Hudson MP for Penrith and The Border met in Penrith with Ed Burrows, the regional secretary of the Fire Brigades Union to hear concerns regarding the restructure and governance of the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service due to the imminent Local Government restructuring in Cumbria.
In July 2021, the UK Government announced that Cumbria would be divided into two unitary local authorities, replacing the current arrangement of the six district councils and the overarching County Council.
One of the outcomes of this change is that the governance responsibility of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) needs to move to a new organisation as it currently sits with Cumbria County Council which will no longer exist as of 1 April 2023.
Two possible options of governance have been suggested: a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria (PFCC) or a Combined Fire and Rescue Authority (CFRA). The PFCC would hold the sole responsibility for the governance of the fire service, whereas the CFRA would have elected members from the two new unitary local authorities.
In the meeting, the Fire Brigades Union discussed the work they do to protect the independence of the fire and rescue service, which they have done for over 100 years. The concerns regarding the governance of the service were raised and the need to ensure the service remains democratically represented by the people of Cumbria through the new Councils.
Speaking after the meeting Dr Hudson stated: "The fire and rescue service is an emergency, lifesaving and community-protecting institution that must be supported, and I pay tribute to the members of the fire services who keep us all safe. I am against Local Government restructuring in Cumbria, especially at this time coming out of the pandemic, and I have raised this time and again in Parliament, most recently in my Cumbrian Levelling up Debate last week. But we now have to make this process work best for our communities. I share in some of the concerns of the Fire Brigades Union, and we must find a way to ensure that the fire service is protected and sensibly run as we move through these challenging times. There is still time for the public to have their say in Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service’s governance, and I encourage everyone to do so by feeding their views into the PCC consultation at: https://cumbria-pcc.gov.uk/firegovernance/"
The consultation will close on Monday 21 March at 12am.
