Fire Authority agree response consultation

At today’s Tyne and Wear Fire Authority meeting, the Fire Authority agreed to initiate a 10-week public consultation on three proposed changes to the Service’s operational response to incidents.

Chief Fire Officer, Chris Lowther commented:

“To ensure we are a sustainable and flexible fire and rescue service, continuing to deliver an excellent service for our communities, our finite resources must be applied to where the greatest risks are in Tyne and Wear. That analysis has resulted in three proposals for change. I would urge our communities to get involved in our consultation – it’s your views which will help shape your fire and rescue service for now and the years to come.

“Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has faced some of the worst funding settlements across fire and rescue in England since austerity began in 2010. By 2019/20 we will see a 19% budget cut by £11.3m to £48.1m. We have also had to manage higher costs faced by the Authority such as inflation and pay awards which means we have actually had to make total budget savings across the Service of just over £25m. As a result, we need to look at how we resource our operational responsive services, such as our fire stations and control room, to ensure we have the correct balance.”

The consultation will begin today Monday November 5^th and conclude on Monday January 14^th.

The survey for the general public is available at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/IRMP2018 and will be publicised on the Service’s social media platforms.