Fire Authority mounts legal challenge over decision to hand control of service to West Mercia PCC

Fire Authority leaders in Shropshire are to mount a legal challenge against the former Home Secretary’s decision to hand control of the fire service to the West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner, John Campion.

Shropshire and Wrekin Fire & Rescue Authority yesterday voted unanimously to seek leave for a judicial review of the decision taken in March by former Home Secretary, Amber Rudd.

Following legal advice, the Fire Authority will challenge the decision on three main grounds.

The Authority argues that:

- The PCC’s consultation paper was misleading, particularly in regard to cost-saving claims.

- The former Home Secretary was incorrect to say that an independent assessment of the PCC’s business case found that the proposed governance would not affect public safety when in fact an independent report identified three potential public safety issues.

- The then Home Secretary was wrong to consider three key issues contained in the PCC’s original business case – economy, efficiency and effectiveness – as a single issue when they should have been demonstrated and considered separately.

In a three-month consultation process conducted by the PCC and since described as “misleading” by Fire Authority lawyers, 60.9% per cent of respondents voted to support the proposal.

The Fire Authority’s vice-chair, Coun Keith Roberts, said: “The Authority strongly believes that people were misled by the PCC’s consultation questionnaire because it claimed switching control of the fire service to the PCC would result in savings of £4 million and that this claim influenced the way people voted.

“We very much regret having to take this action but we have been left with no choice,” he added.