The long-anticipated merger of the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (IWFRS) with Hampshire looks to be a step closer with the recommendation to consider enabling the Isle of Wight Fire Authority to join the existing Combined Fire Authority (CFA) arrangements for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton.
An extraordinary meeting of the Isle of Wight Council’s Executive has been called for on 21st February to discuss meeting the requirements of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, which comes into force on 1st April.
There are 2 options on the table for councillors to consider; that the Police and Crime Commissioner has a seat on the Island’s Fire Authority with full voting rights in matters relating to the fire service, and/or Hampshire’s Chief Fire Officer Dave Curry develops a business case considering the potential for the extension of the existing CFA to include the Isle of Wight. Both options are being recommended for approval.
In 2015 the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service entered into a strategic partnership with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) that has already seen changes to staffing and even the colour of the BA sets worn by firefighters. It’s said the partnership – feared by many to be the precursor to a full merger – has had the effect of ‘bringing the services closer together’ and that the 2 are ‘increasingly becoming aligned’ in the way they deliver services.
It has already been agreed that Fire Control will move from Surrey to Hampshire in April.
Worringly, it has been revealed that the Isle of Wight Council’s Executive will receive a proposal next month (March) to carry out a service review of the IWFRS. It’s unclear at this stage if station closures are on the horizon, but it is known £400,000 of savings are being budgeted for over the next few years and that ‘property implications’ of merging with the Hampshire Fire Authority will be examined as part of the proposed business case.
Looking at station statistics, Yarmouth and Bembridge were the least mobilised stations on the Isle of Wight in 2016 and had the least availability for retained crews. Newport, Ryde and Shanklin were mobilised the most.
Newport – 663
Cowes – 89
East Cowes – 41
Ryde – 406
Bembridge – 25 (lowest availability – 57.7% in Sept 2016)
Sandown – 79
Shanklin – 123
Ventnor – 65
Freshwater – 71
Yarmouth – 13 (lowest availability – 48% in Sept 2016)
If an agreement is reached by both Authorities to commission a business case, it is expected that a report will be brought back to the Isle of Wight Council and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority (HFRA) later this year.
The Secretary of State will ultimately need to agree to any proposed changes to the governance of either the HFRA or the IWFRS before they could be completed.
The full report can be found at https://www.iwight.com/Meetings/committees/Executive/21-2-17/Paper%20A.pdf.
