Fire dispute doesn't delay reforms

Local authority leaders have expressed "growing impatience" at the deadlocked fire dispute and announced plans to press ahead with modernising the fire service.

The Local Government Association (LGA) admitted there was little sign of a deal to end the long-running row, but said it was advising fire authorities to start implementing reforms.

Improvements that can go ahead at local level included the introduction of joint control rooms and the preparation of new recruitment procedures, said the LGA.

The association has stopped short of implementing a pay rise or suggesting that changes to shift patterns or employment terms and conditions should go ahead.

But a spokeswoman said the decision to start implementing the modernisation agenda, much of which was recommended by Sir George Bain's review of the fire service, signalled the growing impatience of fire authorities with the Fire Brigades Union and its "inability" to talk seriously about reform.

A "final" offer of a 16% pay rise over three years remained on the table, which would increase the salary of a firefighter from the present £21,500 to £25,000 by next July, said the LGA.

The union has rejected the 16% and is currently consulting its members on proposals tabled by Professor Frank Burchill, the chairman of the fire service's negotiating body.

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