Following a national consultation process on Fire and Rescue services, the Government have announced cash injections for Fire & Rescue services.
As mentioned in our previous article from the Fire Brigade Union, the government last week announced that money would be available for emergency fire control rooms to upgrade their equipment.
In response to the consultation, Fire Minster, Bob Neill, said that Fire & Rescue Services can bid for up to £1.8million each to upgrade their control room function.
“Localism is key to improved resilience”
The minister’s statement and report identify that ‘localism is key to improved resilience’.
Paul Watts, FBU Regional Treasurer, said, “With central government funding now available to upgrade fire controls, the opportunity exists for IWFRS to retain their own control and upgrade its specification.”
He added, “I strongly urge Councillors to fully investigate this new option and ditch plans to close the Island’s control room and retain jobs on the Island along with the vital local knowledge that IWFRS control staff use to protect Island communities.”
The news will no doubt be debated at next Wednesday’s full council meeting.
Image: Christopher Isherwood under CC BY 2.0
