Local Government’s Role
Fire and Rescue Authorities have a statutory obligation under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 to maintain a Fire and Rescue Service capable of dealing effectively with calls for assistance in the case of fire and other emergencies. Fire and Rescue Authorities consist of nominated elected members, representing the local authorities across the Fire and Rescue Authority area as a whole. Fire services have been a local authority service since 1948 and whilst the National Assembly for Wales has overarching responsibility for determining policy on Fire and Rescue Services, at the local level, the responsibility is still linked to local democracy.
In Wales, there are three Fire and Rescue Authorities:
- Mid and West Wales
- North Wales
- South Wales
Fire and Rescue Services play the key role in fire and rescue capability. The services have moved on from what was primarily a fire-fighting service to being proactive organisations dedicated to the prevention of fires, deaths and injuries from fires and emergencies such as road crashes, chemical incidents and floodings. These twin aims of prevention and intervention have focused on co-ordinating fire safety education and working with local partners, such as Community Safety Partnerships, thereby contributing significantly to the community safety agenda in Wales.
All Fire and Rescue Authorities have developed Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMPs). The aim of these medium term strategic plans is to secure an increasingly productive Fire and Rescue Service that is more responsive to local risks and therefore better able to provide protection against fire and other hazards to its communities – proactively preventing fires rather than having to reactively fight them. Guidance on IRMPs, specific to Wales, is currently being developed by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Key Issues
In November 2004, responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Services in Wales was devolved to the National Assembly for Wales. The ‘Fire and Rescue National Framework for Wales’ sets out the Assembly’s strategy for delivering the fire and rescue service needed in Wales and has three principal objectives:
- To provide clarity about the outcomes and objectives the Assembly Government wants to achieve
- To set out what the Assembly government expects the Fire and Rescue Services in Wales to do in order to meet these objectives
- To explain what the Assembly Government will do to support the Fire and Rescue Service to meet these objectives and the structures intended to be put in place to support Wales-wide development and cross-border collaboration
For more information contact: Rachel Morgan