Clause 21 - Fire and rescue national framework
Fire and Rescue Services Bill
5:15 pm
Mr Richard Younger-Ross (Shadow Minister, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Local Government & the Regions; Teignbridge, Liberal Democrat)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments. Amendment No 152 is a probing amendment. We want to highlight the fact that we wish local authorities to have greater discretion. I am happy to support the hon. Gentleman's idea that the subsection should be removed entirely. It is essential that if we have a national framework, it should not be too rigid. We have seen in other areas and sectors—in the national curriculum for education, for example—that the system creaks if structures are not flexible enough to take account of local need.
We largely support these clauses, and the amendments to them tabled by the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge. I urge the Minister to examine whether a more flexible system can be created. Later, we will debate a new clause on the management board that will control the framework within a region. It is important that the individual circumstances of an authority be taken into account. The circumstances of authorities such as Devon and those of areas of London are not the same.
I visited the chief fire officer for Durham and Darlington, which, like Devon, is a combined authority. He had worked for Northumberland, which is a county authority, and Newcastle, which is a metropolitan authority, and he explained to me that the needs of those three authorities differed. He is possibly, but not necessarily, unique in having such a broad width of experience. I urge the Minister to reflect on how we might at the next stage create a less rigid system.