Fire service review will not rush its conclusions to stop strikes

24 Oct 02
The independent review into the fire service will not be rushed into reporting early, its chair told Public Finance this week as ministers and the TUC scrambled for a solution to halt the impending fire strikes.

25 October 2002

The independent review into the fire service will not be rushed into reporting early, its chair told Public Finance this week as ministers and the TUC scrambled for a solution to halt the impending fire strikes.

Professor Sir George Bain, vice chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, said he would be sticking to the original timetable for the review, with a report on the fire service's pay, conditions and structure out in mid-December. 'It's like saying we need research but we need it tomorrow,' he told PF. 'Research doesn't get produced that quickly.'

Bain said the review was a marathon task and had already received 110 pieces of written evidence. 'We were not set up to solve the dispute. But we are between a rock and a hard spot. If we were to trim the cloth too much the FBU could claim that our report lacked credibility. They could ask how we could assess all the issues in just two weeks.'

Bain's comments follow calls for the review, now seen as the obvious solution to the fire strikes due to begin on October 29, to report early. Both the TUC and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott have said that the inquiry could be speeded up if the Fire Brigades Union agreed to participate.

'If the FBU now wants to give evidence to the inquiry, we could ask the chair to consider that we might be able to hurry up the process,' Prescott told the Commons on October 22.

David Davis, Prescott's Tory shadow, said the resources should be made available for the inquiry to come to a 'rapid conclusion' as 'throughout its deliberations, the public will be at risk'.

Bain conceded that the FBU's co-operation would be 'helpful'. 'We will see the FBU any time – our door is always open.'

Charles Nolda, executive director of the Employers' Organisation, said Bain was effective at finding 'a way through' and although there were still 'informal things ongoing', he could 'fast track' a solution. Nolda warned that the employers would not return to negotiations until the review had reported.

But the FBU described the review as a 'sham' undertaken by people 'who know nothing about the service'.

Nolda conceded that a wage increase above the 4% offer – but undoubtedly below the 39% the FBU was seeking – was inevitable. But he added that the government would come under pressure to ensure it was fully funded.

Prescott has confirmed that the government will pick up the £5.2m a day estimated cost of the planned 36-day action.

Fire minister Nick Raynsford launched a £1.8m safety campaign on October 23 urging the public to continue to ring 999 during the fire strike. The TUC set up a special committee to provide support and help resolve the dispute.

Prime Minister Tony Blair told the Commons: 'If they (the FBU) co-operate with the review, I am quite sure we can resolve this matter satisfactorily.'

PFoct2002

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