Emergency Services 'Should Work Together More'

Police, fire and ambulance services in England should share control rooms so they can work more closely together.

That's according to the government today.

The Home Office is expected to confirm that police and fire services could soon be sharing management with police and crime commisioners will be able to take control of local fire and rescue operations.

But the government insists that both public sectors will remain operationally independent.

Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Grove welcomes the move and says

"I was able to bring about a joint vehicle maintenance service with them which saves a couple of million pounds in capital for both organisations and is saving in excess of £300,000 a year every single year so for me I am already ahead of the game because I am already working closely with the fire service and will continue to do so.

"There is ridiculous waste by duplication in lots of the public sector organisations and the challenge is to try and drive those efficiencies out by finding that overlap and working together more closely. That is why I have been pushing very hard to share buildings as in some high streets you'll walk down the street and see and there will be five different public sector organisations, each with an office, each with a receptionist.

"There are huge opportunities for us to work together collaboratively and achieve the savings which in policing terms can then be reinvested in more police officers targetting dangerous criminals. I have also already entered a strategic partnership with South Yorkshire Police and there are certain areas where we can improve the quality of the policing response at the same time as reducing the cost."

But the move is being criticised by unions, who fear fire chiefs with no experience of fighting crime could be put in charge of police forces.

The Fire Brigades Union is warning that it's a "dangerous move".

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