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FiReControl – ‘potential resilience deficit remains’
At the Local Government Association Annual Fire Conference 2011 Fire Minister Bob Neill MP talked about the future of control room services – read the relevant transcript here.
The following is a transcript of Fire Minister Bob Neill’s speech:
‘Of course we cannot ignore the closure of the FiReControl project in talking about national resilience. As you know, last summer I gave the strongest possible message to the main IT contractor EADS that they must deliver to time, cost and quality.
'However, as the weeks passed, it became clear that they could not deliver the project requirements to an acceptable timeframe. And in December we decided that enough was enough. That is history. But it does leave a question of whether a potential resilience deficit remains.
‘This is one of the questions we are asking in the current consultation on the future of fire and rescue control services - to which I hope you will all take the opportunity to respond. Are the original objectives of improved resilience, efficiency and technology available to fire and rescue services still valid, and how might we achieve them now?
‘I have said clearly that we will not be imposing a solution on fire and rescue authorities. And feedback so far suggests that technology upgrades you have already made, together with plans you are developing, will go some way to meeting that deficit.
‘Many are talking of closer collaboration and even sharing services - an increasingly common route in the wider local government landscape to achieve better and more efficient delivery.
‘It is a challenge - but these are challenging times. I am confident that you will take the opportunity to build resilience, efficiency and technological advance by choice, from the solid foundation of your experience and expertise - from the bottom up, rather than central government imposing unwanted solutions from the top down.’
To read the full transcript, click here.
