Clause 16 - Arrangements for discharge of functions by others
Fire and Rescue Services Bill
Public Bill Committees, 24 February 2004, 10:45 am
Mr Stephen McCabe (Birmingham, Hall Green, Labour)
I want to give the hon. Gentleman every opportunity to be absolutely honest with us. I have listened to him with great interest, but there seems to be repetition of words. We are obsessed with outsourcing and with procurement for commercial third parties. Earlier there was an invitation from a private Danish company to tout for business. I do not know what the situation is in Runnymede and Weybridge, but the poor people of Cheshire should be worried that their fire service could be reduced to a mere contract operation. Is the hon. Gentleman telling us the full truth about his intentions, or are we getting a glimpse of new Tory, new privatisation?