Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service Governance Review

Dear All
 
In September Police and Crime Commissioner, Martin Surl announced that he had taken the decision to reopen the work to assess the case for a change in the governance of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS).
 
Work carried out by Office of the PCC (OPCC) has identified a number of clear benefits a change in governance could bring. They are all contained in an outline business case, now available on our website.
 
The next stage is to gather the views of people who live and work in Gloucestershire and this includes you. It is very important that as many people as possible take part in the consultation so please have a look at the outline business case and spare a few minutes to complete the short, anonymous, online survey. Please also circulate this e-mail and the links to your networks, including staff/members/contacts. This link also takes you to a short video explain the options and the case for change.
 
There are four models of governance to consider. These are:

• No change / status quo: This would mean Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service remains part of the County Council and collaboration continues to be progressed on a voluntary basis.
• Representation: This is where the PCC would become a formal part of the existing governance for fire and rescue in GCC, with full voting rights.
• Governance: Here the PCC takes on responsibility for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service in much the same way he currently does for Gloucestershire Constabulary. The role would become the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Police and fire would retain their own chief officers and staff and be operationally independent of each another.
• Single employer: This is where the PCC would take on responsibility for fire alongside the police and also appoint a single chief officer for both services. Front-line services would remain distinct but support services would be increasingly integrated.

 
Against a statutory test of critical factors (economy and efficiency, effectiveness, public safety) and an additional assessment of deliverability, our analysis shows that the Governance Model would achieve the best outcomes for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and for Gloucestershire residents. This would mean that the PCC would become the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
 
Governance of GFRS would be very much the same as is it with the police. Neither the PCC nor the OPCC would be involved in any operational activity but there would be a requirement to develop a police and fire plan setting the strategic direction of the service as well as overseeing funding. Roles won’t change either – police will stay police and fire will remain fire.
 
A summary of the benefits we believe would be achieved with a governance change for GFRS are:​

We do hope you will make your views known via the survey and please do circulate this to your contacts. Alternatively you can e-mail us at [email protected] or telephone 01452 754348. You can also write to us at The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, No. 1 Waterwells, Waterwells Drive, Quedgeley, Gloucester GL2 2AN.
 
Many thanks
 
Office of the Police Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire
 
No. 1 Waterwells| Waterwells Drive | Quedgeley | Gloucester | GL2 2AN
Group – 01452 754348 | Force Control Room – 101
www.gloucestershire-pcc.gov.uk | www.gloucestershire.police.uk
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