Mentions

House of Commons

Early Day Motions and Petitions

• EDM 705 – London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority Dispute (updated)

Non-governmental and International Organisation Press Releases

• PRESS NOTICE – Unions respond to Lord Young’s review of health and safety
• RMT – Bob Crow in advance of Spending review

Fire Services

Westminster Debates and Legislation

• MPs debate Police (Public Trust)

House of Commons

Statements

• Chishti – Fire safety

House of Commons Questions

• Robertson, L – Fire Services

Non-governmental and International Organisation Press Releases

• PRESS NOTICE – Unions respond to Lord Young’s review of health and safety
• Prospect – Union alarm at pensions raid on middle earners

Regions

House of Commons

House of Commons Questions

• Lumley – Fire Services (West Midlands)
• Mearns – Fires (Hoaxes and False Alarms)

Wales

• Welsh Assembly Government – Minister opens new fire station in Llangefni

Northern Ireland Assembly

• Northern Ireland Executive – Public Safety Minister launches new fire safety legislation awareness campaign
• Northern Ireland Executive – McGimpsey congratulates Fire & Rescue staff

Mentions

House of Commons

Early Day Motions and Petitions

EDM 705 – London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority Dispute (updated)

Thu, 9 September 2010 | House of Commons – Early Day Motion

…/td>Mr Dennis SkinnerJeremy CorbynKelvin Hopkins
That this House notes the dispute between the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and the Fire Brigades Union; is disappointed and alarmed by the Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade’s threat to dismiss 5,557 employees under section 188 of the Trade Unions and Labour Relations Act 1992; regards this inter…
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Non-governmental and International Organisation Press Releases

PRESS NOTICE – Unions respond to Lord Young’s review of health and safety

Fri, 15 October 2010 | Campaign Organisation Press Release

…pond to Lord Young’s review of health and safety

Following the publication of Lord Young’s report Common Sense Common Safety, the unions of the Trade Union Coordinating Group (TUCG) (BFAWU, FBU, Napo, NUJ, POA, PCS, RMT, UCU, URTU) today criticised the report as a cover for cutting health and safety budgets.

Ronnie Draper, National President, BFAWU said:

“The people of…

…ing bosses for whom profit comes ahead of safety.”

- ENDS-

Notes for Editors:

- The Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG) brings together nine national unions (BFAWU, FBU, NAPO, NUJ, PCS, POA, RMT, UCU and URTU) to co-ordinate campaigning activities in Parliament and beyond.

- Lord Young published his review into health and safety – Common Sense Common Safe…
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RMT – Bob Crow in advance of Spending review

Thu, 14 October 2010 | Campaign Organisation Press Release

…he alternative option of genuine public transport free from the profit-driven greed of the private sector.”

Bob Crow – RMT General Secretary

ENDS

NOTE:

RMT, FBU, and other supporting trade unions will be marching in a joint anti-cuts protest on Saturday 23rd October 2010 at 11am from RMT Head Office, 39 Chalton Street, NW1 to a rally at the TUC, Congress Hou…
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Fire Services

Westminster Debates and Legislation

MPs debate Police (Public Trust)

Wed, 13 October 2010 | Debate – Adjournment and General

Summary

The levels of public confidence in policing was a great concern, MPs were told today.

Responding to a debate today about policing, the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, Nick Herbert, conceded that the performance of local police forces and their ability to deal with crime was of great concern throughout the country.

Quoting statistics from the British crime survey, he revealed that he was concerned about the levels of public confidence and trust in local police forces, citing specific incidents as the cause of this. When confidence in policing went, legitimacy also went, he added.

The Minister outlined the Government’s proposed reforms to rebuild the bridge between the police and the public, and in particular to recognise that police forces sprang from local communities. Police legitimacy essentially flowed from consent in communities so the Government wanted to loosen the central grip on policing, he stressed.

A review into police pay and conditions would be led by the former rail regulator, Tom Winsor, he added.
Turning to the reforms and the specific points made by the Chairman of the Select Committee on Home Affairs, Mr Herbert asserted that police and crime commissioners should be directly elected to strengthen the bond between people and the police and to allow local forces to be held to account.

Furthermore, he added that the Government also intended to introduce crime mapping at street level and establish the principle of transparency throughout the criminal justice system. He noted that these reforms would inform the public about what was happening with crime in their area.

The former chief constable of Thames Valley police and chief executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency, Peter Neyroud, had been commissioned to conduct a study into how to ensure the right leadership and training in the police was maintained, he revealed.

The Minister then asserted that the Government intended to reform the Association of Chief Police Officers to make it more accountable and later proposed a decluttering of the landscape surrounding policing by winding up the National Policing Improvement Agency.

Entering the debate, the shadow Police Minister, Vernon Coaker, echoed the Government’s concerns about individual cases casting aspersions on the whole police service.

Addressing anxieties that the fear of crime was rising despite the actual levels of crime falling, he affirmed that the Government had to ensure that it used the crime statistics from the UK Statistics Authority properly, alleging that it had embellished figures to discredit other parties. If statistics were continually undermined, he stressed, it was no wonder that people’s fear of crime rose.

The shadow Minister added that the country needs neighbourhood policing, visible policing and more police officers to respond to issues of antisocial behaviour. This, he hoped, would drive up confidence and trust in the forces. The actions of other bodies and how the police interacted with the criminal justice system were also fundamental, he noted.

Concluding, he suggested that more specialist officers should deal with specific cases, inquiring into the new national crime agency which would be comprised from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and the National Policing Improvement Agency. He then rejected the Government’s proposals to elect police commissioners.

Bringing the debate to the floor, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard outlined his fears that public trust in the police was declining and requested that the Government take this into consideration when conducting its review.

Police officers were not above the law; they were subject to the same law as the public, he stated. Some officers had forgotten that and as a result public trust in the police had ebbed away, he stressed.
Moreover, he added that he hoped that the Government would establish a national and specialist anti-corruption unit, would tackle race relations more effectively, would recognise and reward leadership within the police and would review the number of police agencies and quangos.

Labour MP Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Select Committee on Home Affairs, added that the committee’s first report would deal with police commissioners, its second would deal with the elements of the planned national crime agency and its third would relate to the comprehensive spending review.

Click here to view the source of this item online.
House of Commons

Statements

Chishti – Fire safety

Thu, 14 October 2010 | House of Commons – Business Statement

Contents

Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con): Will the Leader of the House allow a debate on fire safety linked to building regulations and materials? According to the chief fire officer for Kent, it takes a matter of minutes from ignition to collapse, and the lives of fire officers and members of the public are thereby endangered.

Sir George Young: My hon. Friend raises an important issue about the safety of those in buildings. I shall draw his remarks to the attention of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and see whether he can respond to the point that my hon. Friend has made.

House of Commons Questions

Robertson, L – Fire Services

Mon, 4 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will halt the introduction of regional fire control centres and retain existing centres; and if he will make a statement. [14434]

Robert Neill: FiReControl, as with all Government projects, is being reviewed to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. We are not going to provide additional public funding to bail out this contract.

The Government are becoming increasingly concerned at the inability of EADS to deliver on its contractual obligations to sufficient quality and time-and we have made this clear to them in no uncertain terms. Products delivered from EADS have consistently been late and of poor quality. Two recent examples are the data toolkit used by Fire and Rescue Services for recording resources and station end equipment in local fire stations. The toolkit cannot capture all the data needed to accurately and reliably route the nearest and most appropriate fire appliance to an incident. The station end equipment-which controls the alerters, doors, bells, etc, in fire stations-failed safety checks at the last minute.

We are looking carefully at the contract and need to decide soon whether EADS can deliver to time, to cost and to quality in accordance with their contractual obligations. The Government are committed to ensuring value-for-money for the taxpayer, improving resilience and stopping the forced regionalisation of the fire service.

Click here to view the source of this item online.
Non-governmental and International Organisation Press Releases

PRESS NOTICE – Unions respond to Lord Young’s review of health and safety

Fri, 15 October 2010 | Campaign Organisation Press Release

Contents

PRESS NOTICE – PRESS NOTICE – PRESS NOTICE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Unions respond to Lord Young’s review of health and safety

Following the publication of Lord Young’s report Common Sense Common Safety, the unions of the Trade Union Coordinating Group (TUCG) (BFAWU, FBU, Napo, NUJ, POA, PCS, RMT, UCU, URTU) today criticised the report as a cover for cutting health and safety budgets.

Ronnie Draper, National President, BFAWU said:

“The people of the country are its greatest resource and anything that undermines the health, safety and welfare of the workforce is nothing short of heinous. Cutting legislation or reducing the regulatory impact will lead to a reversal of the major reductions in serious injuries and fatalities that have been achieved over the last decade. If some of the more unscrupulous employers see that their responsibilities have been reduced or that they are less likely to be caught, then they are more likely to cut corners. We need more robust protective legislation and greater rights for Health and Safety Representatives if we are to make Britain’s workplaces safer.”

Sally Hunt, General Secretary, UCU said:

“Health and safety is not a joke for our members. The picture painted by Lord Young is not the reality on the ground for many working in universities and colleges up and down the country.”

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, PCS said:

“We welcome the fact that Lord Young has recognised the value of the central provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act, and the contribution that this legislation has made across UK workplaces.

“However the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), responsible for enforcing the legislation, has already lost a quarter of its staff in the last five years and now faces a devastating 25% cut in the Spending Review, including the proposed cut of the HSE’s infoline which receives between 800-1000 calls everyday. Further cuts would leave the HSE under-resourced to implement the recommendations of Lord Young’s review.

“It is also ironic that Lord Young has come out so hard against ‘no win, no fee’ lawyers since it was the Thatcher government, in which he was a Cabinet minister, that changed the legislation to allow them in the first place.”

Bob Crow, General Secretary, RMT said:

“There are already so few inspectors out there that a workplace can expect to be visited only once in four decades, and it is already notoriously difficult to get successful prosecution of bosses whose negligence causes injury, death or disease at work.

“The most conservative estimate is that 200,000 people a year suffer occupational ill-health, and even the CBI accepts that some 30 million working days are lost to work-related accidents or illness each year.

“Yet the moment Lord Young was given the brief to review Britain’s health and safety regime he began ridiculing it, criticising the mythical ‘compensation culture’ and wheeling out ‘health-and-safety-gone-mad’ stories.

“RMT members have faced avoidable disasters including Piper Alpha, King’s Cross, Zeebrugge, Tebay and far too many rail crashes, as well as the risk of chronic ill-health and assault, and they are keenly aware of the need for robust health and safety protection.

“Any weakening of an already weak regime will only undermine what little protection workers have from corner-cutting bosses for whom profit comes ahead of safety.”

- ENDS-

Notes for Editors:

- The Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG) brings together nine national unions (BFAWU, FBU, NAPO, NUJ, PCS, POA, RMT, UCU and URTU) to co-ordinate campaigning activities in Parliament and beyond.

- Lord Young published his review into health and safety – Common Sense Common Safety on Friday 16th October.

For further comment or interview:

Office: 0207 219 1626

Simeon Andrews, TUCG Coordinator: 07984401032

UK Parliament Disclaimer:

Prospect – Union alarm at pensions raid on middle earners

Thu, 14 October 2010 | Campaign Organisation Press Release

Contents

The government should modify plans to restrict pensions tax relief for all pension scheme members, Prospect union warns today (Thursday).

“Cutting the amount of pension tax relief to which workers are entitled will hurt many thousands of modest earners, especially if they are in defined benefit pension schemes,” said Prospect pensions officer Neil Walsh, representing 122,000 professional workers in the private and public sectors.

After strong pressure from Prospect and other organisations in responses to the consultation document, the government has introduced an exemption for people taking early retirement due to ill health. But Prospect still has major concerns about:

• People with enhancements to pensionable service on redundancy, potentially leading to punitive tax bills

• The speed of these changes, which will impose increased administrative burdens and costs on pension schemes

• The impact on uniformed services, including Prospect members in the fire service, whose pension schemes will be particularly impacted.

“This is an extra hit on the pensions of thousands of ordinary workers. It’s totally unfair and comes on top of slashing the value of people’s pensions by linking them to the Consumer Prices Index, rather than the Retail Prices Index.”

See https://library.prospect.org.uk/id/2010/013068 for Prospect’s submission to the Treasury.

Regions

House of Commons

House of Commons Questions

Lumley – Fire Services (West Midlands)

Mon, 11 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to ensure that Hereford and Worcester fire and rescue service is funded on a basis equivalent to that of West Midlands fire service. [16140]

Robert Neill: Formula grant is distributed in the same way to all local authorities, as appropriate to the services that they provide.

We have consulted publicly on options for distribution of formula grant from 2011-12 and will take decisions in due course.

Click here to view the source of this item online.

Mearns – Fires (Hoaxes and False Alarms)

Mon, 4 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the cost to the fire service of hoax telephone calls in (a) Gateshead, (b) the North East and (c) England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [15788]

Robert Neill: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Click here to view the source of this item online.

Wales

Welsh Assembly Government – Minister opens new fire station in Llangefni

Thu, 14 October 2010 | Welsh Assembly Government Press Release

Contents

Minister opens new fire station in Llangefni

Social Justice and Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant today opened the newly refurbished fire station and County Safety Office in Llangefni.

Thursday 14 October 2010

The Welsh Assembly Government has provided over half a million pounds to renovate the fire station and build a number of new facilities including an office, kitchen and meeting room. The refurbishment not only improves the amenities used by the firefighters, it also opens up the fire station to the people of Llangefni to advance engagement with the local community.

Speaking at the opening, the Minister said,

“Our firefighters undertake difficult and dangerous work. They deserve the best possible facilities in order to maintain their high standards of service to the people of North Wales.

“This new station provides not only those facilities, but much more. The station is a focal point for the community where they are able to access a wide range of services. A true community fire station.”

Figures released today show a reduction in the number of fires in Wales, and injuries caused from fire. The figures also show a reduction in the number of deliberate fires and malicious false alarms.

Key figures include:

•There were 19,131 fires attended by the fire and rescue services in Wales in 2009/10, a fall of 2% when compared to 2008/9
•The number of fires started deliberately in Wales fell 5% in 2009/10 when compared to 2008/9
•The number of malicious false calls to the fire and rescue service in 2009/10 fell to 3,473, a reduction of 17% when compared to 2008/9
The Minister added,

“I welcome today’s statistics which show a reduction in the number of fires in Wales. The figures reflect the hard work, professionalism and bravery of our fire fighters. I must pay tribute to the Welsh Fire and Rescue Services who work tirelessly to protect the people of Wales.

“The Assembly Government has invested £25 million in community fire safety and arson reduction activities since 2004. The success of such schemes is reflected in the reduction of the number of fires, accidental fire fatalities and injuries in 2009-10.

“These latest figures are encouraging, and I hope to see them continue to fall.”

© Crown Copyright, National Assembly of Wales

Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Executive – Public Safety Minister launches new fire safety legislation awareness campaign

Fri, 15 October 2010 | Northern Ireland Executive Press Release

Contents

15 October 2010

Public Safety Minister launches new fire safety legislation awareness campaign

Public Safety Minister Michael McGimpsey today launched a new public awareness campaign to raise awareness of a change in fire safety legislation.
The campaign, Fire Safe, will target those people who need to be aware of the change in law.

From 15 November 2010 all non-domestic premises must hold a valid Fire Safety Risk Assessment. Responsibility for fire safety will rest with the employer or those with any degree of control over premises.

Mr McGimpsey said: “The new regulations will replace the current requirement for some premises to have fire certificates. Instead all non-domestic premises will be required to hold a valid fire safety risk assessment. Employers, owners, managers and landlords will be responsible for ensuring that fire safety risk assessments are carried out and measures to protect lives are put in place.”

The regulations will be accompanied by guidance documents, aimed at providing information and advice for those with duties under the new legislation.

Mr McGimpsey added: “These regulations will support the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service in promoting fire prevention and fire safety awareness in businesses, schools, offices, factories and public buildings across Northern Ireland. Given the serious risk that fire poses this is a significant step forward.”

NIFRS quote:

The new Fire Safety Regulations (NI) 2010 will give effect to EU Health and Safety directives and will bring Northern Ireland into line with England, Scotland and Wales.

Further information about the new regulations can be found on the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service website.

Notes to editors:
1. Additional information in relation to the new Regulations is available on the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service website.

2. The new Fire Safety Regulations (NI) 2010 will give effect to EU Health and Safety directives and will bring Northern Ireland into line with England, Scotland and Wales.

3. Media enquiries to DHSSPS Press Office

Northern Ireland Executive – McGimpsey congratulates Fire & Rescue staff

Thu, 14 October 2010 | Northern Ireland Executive Press Release

Contents

14 October 2010

McGimpsey congratulates Fire & Rescue staff

Public Safety Minister Michael McGimpsey has congratulated Fire and Rescue staff at the organisation’s first ever training awards ceremony.
Over the past two years Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) staff including Firefighters, Control Centre personnel and Support staff, have undertaken training across a range of disciplines. Over 170 members of staff successfully completed externally accredited qualifications in Leadership and Management, Training or Assessment.

The inaugural event took place in the Fire and Rescue Training Centre in Belfast to formally celebrate the achievements of NIFRS staff and recognise the organisation’s commitment to lifelong learning.

Speaking at the awards ceremony the Minister said: “A modern fire and rescue service needs highly trained and professional staff. It is evident from the awards being made today that our fire and rescue service is committed to providing the training required to keep us as a world class service. I congratulate all those receiving awards today”

Acting Chief Fire Officer Peter Craig said:

“We as a front line Emergency Service are totally committed to lifelong learning, workforce development and skills development to ensure we continue to deliver the highest possible standard of service and protection to the people of Northern Ireland.”

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