Now The Coalition Intends To Sneakily Privatise All Fire And Rescue Services In UK
The spectre of a multi-coloured, company logo branded fire vehicle turning up at your house as it burns down; is now upon us, courtesy of Fire Services Minister Brandon Lewis. Helicopter rescue services are also in the firing line!
Earlier this month, Brandon Lewis fire minister called for new laws that would enable fire and rescue authorities in England to contract out their full range of services to any “suitable provider” – where have we heard that phrase before?
If the secret Government plans were to go ahead, all 46 fire and rescue services in England would be sold off to private firms under.
Labour MP John Healey criticised the plans, telling the Daily Mirror that:
“This is a privatisation too far. Fire and rescue is an essential public service which we all depend on for our safety, and our lives.
Firefighting is a no-go area for privatisation. The first and last concern of our fire services must be public protection not company profit.”
In a letter he sent last month to the Regulatory Reform committee, which looks at planned legislation, the Government's Fire Minister, Brandon Lewis says authorities could be handed to a private firm or, as in Cleveland’s case, a “public service mutual.”
He wrote:
“Fire and Rescue authorities should be able to adopt alternative models for the delivery, under contract, for some or all of their services. Certain provisions in existing legislation preclude some services from being delivered by alternative providers.”
Talking to the BBC news website, Labour MP Chris Leslie said the government's fire services minister Brandon Lewis used the parliamentary Regulatory Reform Committee to get the changes, rather than introduce a new bill.
He explained:
"The ministers are taking this through a committee - a little known committee in the House of Commons - but actually I think they should have the courage to admit what they are doing, which is out sourcing the entirety of the fire services."
I think it's a step too far. It's a different thing saying IT services or human resource management service within a fire fighting service should be outsourced, but to sell off everything is full scale privatisation.
I don't think that profit should be at the forefront in fire and rescue protection.”
He added:
"They should have the courage of their convictions and bring forward a full bill. Because sneaking through is just out of order."
As expected the DWP denied any such thing telling the BBC journalist that:
“Fire and rescue authorities will remain statutorily responsible for this public service and to suggest otherwise is completely wrong.”
However, read the words carefully – we all know that intentions often denied, turn into actions!
But whilst the move to use the Regulatory Reform Committee as a back-door way of privatising the Fire and Rescue services failed as committee members rejected the tactic, there were those on the committee who had no problems with the actual concept of privatisation.
The DWP says that the Government does encourage other forms of control of local fire services via local authorities using mutual companies to run the fire services. These are companies are where employees have shareholdings.
But it still remains that such entities are in the private sector, and constitute privatisation of those fire services brought under such control.
But why? Well, they assume that employee-led mutual organisations will be easy prey to private companies as they bribe employees to accept take-overs with one-off payments or temporary pay increases; then the axe falls!!
Currently only trained fire fighters employed by a fire authority to fight fires or handle other emergencies are allowed.
The government wants to change this to allow private enterprise to run these services, with Cleveland in the North East, being the first authority to consider transferring its fire fighting service to an independent employee-led mutual.
Gary Mitchell, the regional secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is quoted by the BBC news item as saying:
"Fire fighters are there to serve the public. They have no wish to become share holders in the fire service."
He adds:
"Look what has happened in Lincolnshire, AssetCo actually owns the fire engines. It's a private company. That means the councillors, who are responsible for the fire service, just won't have any say in it in future."
England’s 28,245 firefighters will end up with weaker pension and employment rights and we will no doubt see large reductions in the number of serving firefighters, as the use of ‘voluntary firefighters’ becomes the norm in order to save on costs and increase profits.
MP Brandon Lewis announced in December the £20million sale of the Fire Service College to the private sector, with Capita named as preferred bidder.
This despite, a report warned that plans to privatise London Fire Brigade training and the fire control centre would compromise safety whilst imposing new high financial risks on the capital’s fire service.
The European Services Strategy Unit, jointly commissioned by the FBU, GMB and UNISON, released its report in October 2011 examining plans to privatise London’s Fire Service Training and Control Centre.
Labour MP John Healey told, the Daily Mirror that:
“Ministers are already selling the national college to Capita. Now they are opening the door to wholesale privatisation of fire services. The Olympics security fiasco showed private firms often cost more and deliver less than promised when they take over public services.”
Capita are already running many NHS clinical healthcare services, and are a major contractor providing privatised public services.
Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has said of the privatisation plans:
“This is staggering and outrageous. It will put lives at risk as emergency services are run on a whim as private companies and their need for profit will come first.
We have seen how the public lose out in other privatisations, such as rail, but for emergency services it is even more grotesque as we are there to save lives and property.”
The Fire Officers Association also expressed deep concerns, says the Daily Mirror:
“Staff are extremely concerned it would not only lead to worse terms and conditions but prove to be the stepping stone towards the eventual privatisation of an essential emergency service.”
Such is the FBU concerns, they have started an on-line petition which is supported by the campaign group 38 Degrees. The petition already has over 98,000 signatures, but no-one can be complacent.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary said:
“I would strongly urge all members to support this petition. Please circulate the details to your friends, family and colleagues in whatever ways you can find to do so. Everyone can play a role in the fight to defend our service.”
It is clear that the government intends to force through, or as in the case of the NHS and new regulatory powers currently awaited in Parliament, by any means.
Given that massive cuts to Fire and Rescue Services budgets have taken place under this government's spending regime, and the all-out attacks on funding of pubic services; it is clear that the Tory-led coalition government's plans for the whole sale privatisation of 'everything' will lead to further budget cuts. Starve the public services of cash and make the privatisation of them inevitable; is simply their game.
They are doing precisely that with the NHS, and in Manchester, Arriva Bus Company was awarded the contract to provide ambulance transports for patients attending hospital clinics!
Will the Police Services be next, you may well ask?
Source: Daily Mirror / BBC News website / FBU / 38 Degrees / European Services Strategy Unit
