Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Hall Excerpts

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

16. What steps her Department is taking to encourage greater collaboration between police and fire services; and if she will make a statement.

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

18. What steps her Department is taking to encourage greater collaboration between police and fire services.

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amber Rudd)]

This Government firmly support collaboration between emergency services and have invested more than £88 million in projects to support that since 2013. The Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced a host of measures to enable collaboration to go further and faster, which include a statutory duty to collaborate and allow elected police and crime commissioners to take on fire and rescue governance.

--- Later in debate ---

[Luke Hall]

Clearly, when we are looking at these reforms, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that will suit every part of the UK. Will the Home Secretary confirm that the Government are going to be driven by a pragmatic approach, which will ensure that cross-service collaboration will be driven by what is best in terms of delivering results for communities up and down the UK?

[Amber Rudd]

I thank my hon. Friend for that. He is absolutely right to say that this is not a case where one size fits all, but it is the case that collaboration will lead to efficiencies, cost savings and a better service for all. I hope that the leadership we have seen across the country from some PCCs will be taken forward by others.