Councillors on the Isle of Wight will next week consider a proposal to create a combined fire authority, which would cover Southampton, Portsmouth, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
At present, the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service is controlled by the Isle of Wight Council – the local fire authority. This matter has been well demonstrated of late with the proposed changes to the fire service, which has caused anger amongst firefighters and the Fire Brigade’s Union (FBU).
The Isle of Wight Council say that any final decision on combining the fire authority with the mainland will be based on a detailed business case and the outcome of 2 separate 12-week public consultations, 1 on the Island and the other in Hampshire.
Howard Watts – who, although being the local senior officer, is in fact a Hampshire officer – has said:
“The Isle of Wight has a really strong, well equipped fire service that’s much loved by Islanders.
“I believe this can make it even better and it’s right everyone looks closely at the proposal.
“We’re really keen for residents to engage in the consultation process, to help influence the future of our service.”
According to the Council, who agreed to a project to explore creating a combined fire authority in February 2017, increasing resilience and capacity operationally to help make communities safer have been identified by specialist officers as potential benefits to the Island. Other advantages include aligning safety campaigns and giving more consistent safety messages to the public.
The new combined authority would be made up of members from all relevant councils, who would make decisions on fire related matters. It would build on the successful strategic partnership between the Isle of Wight Council and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, which was set up in 2015. However, some believe this is just another step towards a full merger between the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.
As part of the plans, the proportion of general council tax given to the fire service would be replaced by a separate precept, similar to the police.
A 3-year capital investment of £940,000 towards fleet replacement and new equipment for the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, as agreed in the 2018/19 budget, will not be affected by the plans.
The Council say the operational improvements proposed in the recent review of the fire service are not linked to this proposal…
The Full Council will meet on 21st March at County Hall.
