Plan to shake up 999 services

It comes after a Government minister suggested police, fire and ambulance would have to work more closely together to drive down costs.

But North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said ‘there are no plans to close’ its three 999 call centres as a result of the new legislation, put forward by the Home Office, which will force the three blue light services to collaborate more.

The shake-up could also see the police and crime commissioner (PCC) take over responsibility for the fire service, with one chief officer overseeing the running of both services.

Lancashire’s PCC Clive Grunshaw said savings have already been made by working more closely with Lancashire Fire and Rescue (LFRS). He added: “The Home Office announcement was expected, however I would have to look very carefully at what the implications are before considering this for Lancashire.”

The Government said the services would stay independent but could end up sharing ‘back office’ functions.

A LFRS spokesman said there was a ‘precedent’ for blue light services in Lancashire working together.

He added: “We are all committed to serving the public to the best of our ability.”

He said the announcement was ‘not a surprise’. LFRS is piloting a scheme in Ormskirk and Morecambe that sees firefighters trained as community first responders to help in medical emergencies.

NWAS said it ‘fully supported’ a statement issued by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, saying ambulance trusts have a long history of collaborating other emergency services. The AACE said it will ‘embrace the opportunity to work even more closely’ but felt the new legislation was not necessary.

Policing and fire minister Mike Penning, said ‘it simply doesn’t make sense’ for emergency services to have different premises and IT systems.

He added: “We believe that better joint working can strengthen the emergency services, deliver significant savings and produce benefits for the public.

“Directly elected police and crime commissioners are clearly accountable to the public and have a strong incentive to pursue ambitious reform and deliver value for money. This is about smarter working.”

Union warns merger plans are a ‘mistake’

Currently, 999 calls go to call centres across the North West – depending on the service you need.

An emergency call to the police gets sent through to a county-wide control room based at Lancashire Police HQ in Hutton.

The North West Ambulance Service has three call centres – in Broughton, Manchester and Liverpool – covering the whole region, from Cheshire to Cumbria.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue has a shared call centre with neighbouring services, with all 999 calls for the county handled at a control room in Warrington.

Meanwhile, the Home Office plans would see police and crime commissioners take responsibility for fire services.

If they opt to move to a ‘single employer’ model, a single chief officer would run both the police and fire services and have responsibility for hiring police officers as well as firefighters. The Fire Brigades Union has warned the move would be a ‘mistake’.