Cumbria fire consultation rejects crime commissioner's plan

Day to day running of the service would remain with the chief fire officer

Proposals for a region's police and crime commissioner (PCC) to run its fire service have been rejected by a majority of consultation responses.

Cumbria Fire Service will need new governance after Cumbria County Council, which currently runs it, ceases to exist in April 2023.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said PCC Peter McCall should "withdraw this disastrous plan".

Mr McCall said the union's response was "politically motivated".

Cumbria County Council and six district authorities are to be replaced by two new unitary bodies amid local government reorganisation.

The consultation, which closed on 21 March and was published online on 6 May, sought views on two replacement options: a fire service led by a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) or a Combined Fire and Rescue Authority (CFRA).

It received 363 responses, with 54% preferring a CFRA and 46% wanting a PFCC to oversee the service.

Peter McCall sought views on the future options for running the fire service

FBU regional secretary Ed Burrow said Mr McCall's proposal to add control of the fire service to his remit risked three fire station closures.

"Peter McCall has asked the public and workers what they think of his desire to become PFCC and unsurprisingly they have thrown the idea back in his face - in his own consultation," he said.

The FBU has also expressed concerns about "democratic accountability and the separation between police and fire".

Mr McCall said he had "no intention of responding further to the politically motivated, irresponsible and deliberately misleading statement put out by the FBU".

The PPC's office said most responses had come from fire service, county council and police staff.

Only a small number of members of the public took part, "demonstrating that the most members of the public are not interested or do not have strong views either way", it said.

The results have been submitted to Home Secretary Priti Patel along with a business case drawn up by Mr McCall.