Clause 1 — Powers of the Secretary of State
Orders of the Day — Fire Services Bill
7:45 pm
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
The Minister must be honest about this. "Disposal" in this context includes the transfer by sale of land, and it has to. He, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Local Government and the Regions have all said that the pay settlement on offer will have to be paid for by savings through modernisation. That means reducing the number of fire appliances, fire stations and firefighters. What else could yield the savings to pay for an above-inflation pay settlement?