Clause 8 - Road traffic accidents
Fire and Rescue Services Bill
3:00 pm
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State (Local and Regional Government), Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
Firefighters already have powers to close roads if necessary. The circumstances that the hon. Gentleman highlighted would be precisely those in which, if a fire appliance were first on the scene and felt it necessary in the interest of public safety to do so, could close a road. As I have pointed out, there are effective operational protocols between the emergency services for dealing with those matters and it is not appropriate to include it all in the Bill.
In relation to those powers, I refer also to clause 43, which we will not reach for a while yet. The hon. Gentleman may wish to use the half-term recess to study its provisions. I think that that will satisfy him that there are more than adequate powers for firefighters when necessary . I hope that the hon. Member for Teignbridge will recognise that the existing arrangements work. There is no pressure to change them. There is an understanding about the role of firefighters, and they have powers where necessary to deal with such situations. In our judgment, it would be a step too far to follow the line that he suggested.