Fire, Police and Ambulance all under one

The latest Government spin to come out of Westminster is to merge the Fire,Police and Ambulance Service.  In 2012, local Police Authority's were abolished and police forces were under the Police and Crime Commissioner to which was a political stance.

The role below sets out the Home Office guidelines on what a PCC is.

41 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were elected across England and Wales on the 15th November 2012. When PCCs took office on the 22nd November 2012 they became responsible for a combined police force area budget of £8 billion.
The role of the PCCs is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account. They are responsible for the totality of policing.
PCCs aim to cut crime and deliver an effective and efficient police service within their force area.
PCCs have been elected by the public to hold Chief Constables and the force to account, effectively making the police answerable to the communities they serve.
PCCs ensure community needs are met as effectively as possible, and are improving local relationships through building confidence and restoring trust. They work in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level to ensure there is a unified approach to preventing and reducing crime.
Under the terms of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, PCCs must:

• secure an efficient and effective police for their area;
• appoint the Chief Constable, hold them to account for running the force, and if necessary dismiss them;
• set the police and crime objectives for their area through a police and crime plan;
• set the force budget and determine the precept;
• contribute to the national and international policing capabilities set out by the Home Secretary; and
• bring together community safety and criminal justice partners, to
• make sure local priorities are joined up.

In all since these PCCs have been appointed, there has been somewhat of either scandals or investigations in to major failings of pastworkings of these PCCs. 

In South Yorkshire, the PCC was publicly forced to resign due to a scandal of the Rotherham Sex Abuse probe to which the then PCC Shaun Wright was made to resign as he was the previous leader of Rotherham Council. 

Other PCCs have been under investigation for expenses to which they were found of no wrong doing at all. 

PCCs all hold a five year term and another two years are left. 

 In all this, it would be wrong to place all services under one PCC. There would be no local voice in the running of these services. 

Its all run politically.

Abolishing Fire Authorities would be the wrong decision. But with the current economic climate the Government are committed to damage our FRS, Police and NHS. 

The Government should look at a point of Commissioners responsible for each Fire Service being independent and not of any Political Party. 

Regionalisation of FRS again is back on the cards. Look at the Labours plan to remove all 46 Fire and Rescue Services control rooms. In excess of over drawn on tax payers money to which were never fit for purpose. Out of the 9 that was build, three are in use. Belmont (Durham) is now the HQs and Control Room for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service,  Warrington which serves the North West is now home to the North West Control Room (GMFRS, Cumbria, Lancs and Cheshire) and the one in the south is home to the HM Coastguard. 

A project that was never going to work and be of a private company making most Fire and Rescue Control Room staff under different terms and conditions.  The local knowledge of the Control Staff was to be lost if working in a different area. 

So in summary the idea of all three Emergency Services under one PCC is wrong and would not work.