DeHavilland Report – Fire Brigades Union
Monday, 25 October 2010

Mentions

Non-governmental and International Organisation Press Releases

• UNISON – For operational use only – nationwide protests in week of comprehensive spending review
• Unions pledge co-ordinated action to defend jobs and services

Fire Services

House of Commons

House of Commons Questions

• Graham – FireControl Project
• White, C – Fire Service Accountability
• Blenkinsop – Fire Service Finance
• Graham – Regional Fire Control Centre Costs
• Graham – FireControl Project Costs
• Graham – Fire Service Redundancy

Regions

Northern Ireland Assembly

• Storey – Proposed Provision of a New Fire Brigade Area Command in Ballymena

Mentions

Non-governmental and International Organisation Press Releases

UNISON – For operational use only – nationwide protests in week of comprehensive spending review

Mon, 18 October 2010 | Campaign Organisation Press Release

Contents

Members of UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector trade union, will take to the streets across the UK, on Tuesday 19 October, ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review, and in the days following the Chancellor’s announcement on public spending cuts.

Public sector workers including nurses, social workers, teaching assistants, home care workers and librarians, will stage a variety of actions, rallies and protests, to raise awareness of the dangers of drastic public spending cuts to the private and public sector, to families, communities, and vulnerable groups in our society.

More information on all actions, rallies and protests available from UNISON press office on 0207 551 1555 or 07957 505 675.

London

Rally and lobby of parliament. UNISON members from across the country will be converging on London to lobby parliament, with a rally taking place at Methodist Central Hall, from 12.30. Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, will be addressing the rally at 12.40. Lobby of parliament will commence at 2.30 pm.

Dave Prentis will also take part in a TUC photo op, at 11.30, along with a dozen other public sector union general secretaries, who will hold up big red numbers outside the Treasury showing the £19 billion of tax that the UK’s banks will avoid paying on their profits, because they are allowed to carry forward losses from the recession, despite being bailed out by the taxpayer.

A second rally will take place on Saturday 23 October, from 12 -1.45pm, at Congress House, with speakers including Linda Perks, head of London region for UNISON, Billy Hayes CWU, Mick Shaw FBU, Hugh Lanning PCS, Bob Crow RMT and Chuka Umanna, London Labour MP.

Wales

Lobby of Welsh Parliament at lunchtime on Wednesday, 20 October, 2010 from 12.30 until 2pm, at the National Assembly for Wales, Senedd Building, Harbour Drive, Cardiff. First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, will make an address at 12.50.

Northern

Wednesday 20 October – rally at Newcastle Civic Centre from 5pm.

Yorkshire and Humberside

20 October – Sheffield Town Hall event, with unveiling of ad van featuring Cleggzilla poster at 11.30am. The ad van will then prowl the streets of Sheffield, whilst leafleting and UNISON presence will continue at the Town Hall until about 1pm.

Lunchtime rallies will also take place on October 20, in Barnsley, at Peel Square, from 12.30 -1.30pm and outside Leeds City Hall.

Lunchtime leafleting will take place in Doncaster, outside the Mansion House, and in Rotherham, outside the Town Hall, as well as jointly with the FBU outside Wakefield Town Hall.

23 October – TUC Protest and Rally outside Sheffield Town Hall, from 12.30 – 3.00pm – key speakers from UNISON, as well as second appearance by Cleggzilla ad van.

Northern Ireland

23 October – ICTU rally in Belfast – Assemble College of Art gardens 1pm, for march to Belfast City Hall.

Eastern

20 October – UEA campus, 11-3pm, joint union protest with UCU, rally outside council offices in Cambridge from 8 pm, and outside council offices in St Albans from 7pm. Lunchtime rally and march to High Street in Southend. Further lunchtime protest at Great Yarmouth Town Hall, and Luton and Dunstable hospital. Leafleting of Cambridge station will also take place from 7.30 am.

21 October – lobby and picket of council meeting at Cambridge City Council.

23 October – Cambridge city centre – rally and march against the cuts. Morning rallies at Norwich City Centre and Kings Lyn.

South East

Tuesday 20 October, the UNISON South East regional bus campaign will be making a stop at West Sussex NHS Trust, Southlands site.

Wednesday 20 October, Royal Hampshire County Hospital, 12.30 – 1.30pm, and in Bargate, central Southampton at 5pm. A demo will also be taking place at 12pm, at Gun Warf, Dock Road, and a rally at Command House, 7.30pm.

Thursday 21 October, demo outside a council meeting in Brighton, where cuts to the Connexions service will be discussed. Demonstrators will be dressed as grim reapers. Members of UNISON’s Kent police branch will be leafleting commuters outside Maidstone East Train Station, from 7 – 8.30am, and outside Ashford International and domestic train stations from 6.30 until 8.30am.

South West

20 October 2010 – ‘Final nail in the coffin for public services’‚ march through Dorchester, will set off from the Cenotaph, at 12.30, and be led by a hearse and coffin, with protestors wearing black.

North West

20 October – March and rally in Bolton from 11 am.

October 22 – Lunchtime protest at Blackburn town hall, with leaflets being distributed in Sefton council, at Liverpool Hope University, at St Helens & Whiston Hospitals, at Mersey Fire HQ, on Bridle Road Bootle. Similar actions also taking place in Knowsley, with leaflets being given out in Halewood, Kirkby, Huyton, and Prescot. In Ribble Valley, leaflets will be given out at the hall and off site offices.

October 23 – Leaflets will be distributed at Warrington town, at Nugent Care Head Office and 3 Nugent care sites in Liverpool, 1 in Warrington and 1 in Skelmersdale. Staff will also give out leaflets and rally local support in Blackpool, Wirral, and Warrington.

Unions pledge co-ordinated action to defend jobs and services

Wed, 20 October 2010 | Campaign Organisation Press Release

Contents

Unions pledge co-ordinated action to defend jobs and services

In the face of the swinging cuts to public expenditure announced by the chancellor the unions which comprise the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group representing nearly 1 million trade unionists have pledged themselves to a program of co-ordinated industrial action to protect public services and the jobs and livelihoods of their members.

A number of disputes are already breaking out across the public sector including:

· FBU will be on strike in London on Saturday 23rd October and again on the 1st November over threats to sack 5,000 fire-fighters in the capital.

· NUJ are holding a consultative ballot over cuts to the BBC pensions scheme

· RMT will be on strike 26th October and 2nd November over 2,000 job losses on London Underground.

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, PCS said:

“This is the largest cut in public service jobs since the 2nd World War. Civil servants will lose their jobs, have their redundancy payments cut by two thirds with little prospect of securing employment in the private sector as the economy dips again. The brunt of this recession is falling on the shoulders of public sector workers and the people they serve. There is no way that this can be claimed to be fair. People will not stand by and be trampled on by this Government. Unions and community organisations will inevitably work together to coordinate our resistance.

Bob Crow, General Secretary, RMT said:

“These cuts represent the most brutal assault on public services, jobs and living standards in living memory and show that the ConDem government are prepared to force working people to carry the can for an economic crisis cooked up in the boardrooms and on the trading floors.

“While the bankers, spivs and speculators are preparing for a return to mega-bonuses this Christmas for the vast majority of British people this spending review means attacks on living standards, jobs and the public services we rely on. The idea that this announcement is about “sharing the burden” is a sick joke and coming from a Government of millionaire public schoolboys is an insult to the people who make this country tick and who are in the front line of this cuts assault.

We will need community protests and combined and co-ordinated action to fend off these cuts and we should look across the Channel to the kind of resistance being mobilised by the French trade unions, which enjoys overwhelming public support, as an example of how to resist austerity cuts and attacks on standards of living”

Steve Gillan, General Secretary, POA said:

“We are extremely concerned that the criminal justice system will go into meltdown if these draconian cuts take place over the next 4 – 5 years. The POA believes that there is an alternative and the Coalition Government should now start listening to the trade union movement.

“If it is the will of respective memberships then coordinated industrial action cannot be ruled out to safeguard jobs. ”

Joe Marino, General Secretary, BFAWU said:

“The BFAWU believes that the cuts contained in the Comprehensive Spending Review will affect each section of society. Cuts on this scale can only serve to have a negative impact on health and safety and will lead to more injuries in the workplace.”

Jeremy Dear, NUJ General Secretary said:

“This is a full frontal attack on valuable public service broadcasting which will see vital services cut and thousands of jobs axed.

The proposals are even worse than they appear – a 16% funding cut in real terms only includes the licence fee freeze. The BBC commitment to spend an extra £340m each year will devastate jobs and services and compromise the BBC’s independence.

We are determined to challenge them.”

-Notes to 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.

Fire Services

House of Commons

House of Commons Questions

Graham – FireControl Project

Mon, 18 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department has taken to end the FireControl Project. [17010]

Robert Neill: As with all major Government projects FiReControl is being reviewed to ensure value-for-money for the taxpayer. We have activated a milestone in our contract with EADS (now branded as Cassidian) that requires them to deliver the main IT system in three Control Centres by mid-2011. We have been clear that EADS must deliver to time, cost and quality. This Government are not prepared to pour any more taxpayers’ money into funding their further delays, nor can they cut any corners in the quality of the system they deliver.

Click here to view the source of this item online.

White, C – Fire Service Accountability

Mon, 18 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether he has considered the merits of introducing elected fire commissioners; [17425]

(2) whether he has discussed with the Secretary of State for the Home Department the merits of creating jointly-elected fire and policing commissioners. [17429]

Robert Neill: There are no plans to introduce elected fire commissioners and there have been no discussions with the Home Office to create jointly elected fire and policing commissioners.

Click here to view the source of this item online.
Blenkinsop – Fire Service Finance

Mon, 18 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to review the funding criteria for Fire Brigade services with large industrial conurbations. [16906]

Robert Neill: The consultation on Local Government Finance Formula Grant Distribution closed on 6 October 2010. Ministers will take into account all the representations that have been received when making decisions about changes to the formula grant distribution system ahead of the 2011-12 settlement.

The existing fire and rescue relative needs formula, used in the distribution system, includes an indicator based on the number of top tier Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) sites per head. There was no consultation proposal to change this.

Click here to view the source of this item online.
Graham – Regional Fire Control Centre Costs

Mon, 18 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the monthly running costs of empty regional fire control centres. [17008]

Robert Neill: The control centres are currently being used for a range of activities in preparation for the FiReControl system going live.

The following table gives the most recent estimate of the monthly running costs of the control centres.

Click here to view the source of this item online.

Graham – FireControl Project Costs

Mon, 18 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of the FireControl Project. [17009]

Robert Neill: The current estimate of the cost of the FiReControl Project is £423 million. As with all major Government projects, it is being reviewed to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.

Click here to view the source of this item online.
Graham – Fire Service Redundancy

Mon, 18 October 2010 | House of Commons – Written Answer

Contents

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire fighters in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) England have been made redundant in each of the last five years. [17007]

Robert Neill: The number of fire fighters who were made redundant in Gloucestershire and England for the period 2006-07 to 2009-10 is shown in the table. The number of redundancies in fire and rescue services was not collected prior to 2005-06 and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Click here to view the source of this item online.
Regions

Northern Ireland Assembly

Storey – Proposed Provision of a New Fire Brigade Area Command in Ballymena

Fri, 15 October 2010 | Northern Ireland Assembly – Written Answer

Summary

The following question was answered in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 15 October 2010.

Contents

Northern Ireland Answer
Proposed Provision of a New Fire Brigade Area Command in Ballymena
Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an update on the proposed provision of a new fire brigade area command in Ballymena.
(AQW 771/11)
Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I understand from the Northern Ireland Fire and Recue Service that it has identified a potential site for a new Fire Station and Area Headquarters and that a feasibility study has recently been completed.

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