Clause 8 - Road traffic accidents
Fire and Rescue Services Bill
2:45 pm
Mr Richard Younger-Ross (Shadow Minister, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Local Government & the Regions; Teignbridge, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 79, in
clause 8, page 5, line 35, at end add—
'(3) The Secretary of State shall make a direction that a fire officer or firefighter shall be responsible for the management of a road traffic accident except where there is a police officer present.'.
The Minister said that he had made a concession on inquiries, for which we are grateful. I hope he will also concede that there is room to amend the Bill along the lines of the amendment.
One issue that was dealt with in the 1947 Act but is not covered in the Bill is responsibility in the case of a fire. We intend to table another amendment to reinstate that provision. Firefighters and fire officers to whom we have spoken have asked who is responsible and what is the order of responsibility in the case of, for example, a road traffic accident. Our amendment simply says that if a police officer is not present, the senior fire officer should be responsible. If he was first on the scene, he would know that he should take responsibility until the police arrive. If other services arrive, someone would be in charge. The amendment is fairly straightforward and would certainly simplify life for those who have to operate as part of a group.