Amanda Milling
Main Page: Amanda Milling (Conservative - Cannock Chase)Department Debates - View all Amanda Milling's debates with the Home Office
(7 years, 4 months ago)
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Sarah Newton
I not only welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place but very much welcome his views. The whole purpose of setting up the counter-extremism commission is to see what more we can do and what further steps we can take. I think we all understand what our shared British values are, and our strategy is making good progress. Of course, one of the commission’s actions will be to look at the definition that the hon. Gentleman mentions.
Amanda Milling (Cannock Chase) (Con)
4. What steps her Department is taking to encourage greater collaboration between the police and fire services.
James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East) (Con)
8. What steps her Department is taking to encourage greater collaboration between the police and fire services.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amber Rudd)
The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a raft of new measures to drive greater collaboration between emergency services, including a new duty to collaborate and enable police and crime commissioners to take on governance of fire and rescue services where a case is made. The Government continue to expect the pace and ambition of emergency services’ collaboration to increase.
Amanda Milling
Staffordshire’s police and crime commissioner, Matthew Ellis, has identified savings of at least £3.6 million a year from the integration of police and fire services, and he has committed them to bolstering frontline services in each of those two areas, as well as to investment in preventive measures, especially relating to fire. Does my right hon. Friend agree that such integration should progress where there is a strong local business case for it?
Amber Rudd
My hon. Friend is right. Where there is a strong business case and collaboration can improve outcomes and save money, which can then be used for the frontline, it should be encouraged. I welcome the good work that she has been doing with Matthew Ellis to deliver just that.