Disbelief at 'weak' fire service rating (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Disbelief at 'weak' fire service rating

THE chairman of the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority has reacted with "disbelief" to news that the service is under performing.

The authority ranks among the bottom seven in the country and was rated "weak" in a Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) published by the Audit Commission on Thursday.

Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority chairman Cllr Jerry Willmott said he was both surprised and disappointed by the review.

Cllr Willmott said: "I anticipated the authority would have at least gained at 'fair' rating if not better than that. I have great difficulty in recognising the brigade described in this review."

The CPA looks at how well an authority is being run at corporate level and does not make judgements on the ability of fire authorities to respond to emergencies or other incidents.

The review found that the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority had insufficient knowledge of its community, making it difficult to target its activity towards high-risk groups such as the elderly.

The authority was also criticised for its inability to produce clear targets for performance and risk management. Cllr Willmott, a county councillor for Lavington and Cannings, said: "This review refers to written policy and planning documents but we prefer to concentrate our resources on the practicalities of providing a better service for the public.

"I find it difficult to understand how the authority can possibly have a 'weak' management team when we have been praised by HM Fire Inspectorate for our service to the community."

Following the review a support team has been dispatched from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to assist the authority, which serves 620,000 people, with its future corporate planning.

Cllr Willmott said: "The original CPA was carried out in January and since then we have taken significant steps towards meeting the targets identified by the Audit Commission.

"We recognise there is still significant scope for improvement and will be working with the support team to improve our rating."

l Avon Fire Authority was given a fair rating while Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue were one of 20 to be given a good rating out of 47 assessed nationally.