LOCAL fire services are to be granted more powers under plans announced by the government.

Fire minister Bob Neill said he wanted to stop the forced regionalisation of fire services and hand more control back to local level.

The announcement was made as part of the government's promise to abolish regional government and give more responsibilities to local communities.

Services no longer have to work through regional management boards, ending one of the last layers of regional bureaucracy, said Mr Neil.

“The coalition government is committed to stopping regional government and cutting away unnecessary layers of bureaucracy by pushing power into the hands of communities,” he added.

“We have fantastic fire and rescue services in this country and it's time we stopped tying them up in red tape and give them more freedom to serve their communities.

The announcement follows confirmation of plans to scrap regional development agencies and regional assemblies.

The government also intends to abolish regional government offices.

Central government was stepping aside so fire authorities could decide their priorities in the best interests of the communities they served, said Mr Neill.

There would be an immediate shift in approach in a number of areas where the service was currently “directed” unnecessarily by the government.

Ministers would no longer needlessly intervene where a national framework is not strictly adhered to.

Issues which will now also be left to local decision-making include equality and diversity, and workforce development.

“We rely on our firefighters to keep us safe not waste resources on bureaucracy,” said Mr Neill.

"Fire and Rescue Services are mature enough and professional enough to make their own decisions and to work together to make continuous improvements.

“I know the sector is keen to step up and show that they are more than capable of supporting their own."

The government would now only intervene in extreme cases.

Instead, it would work with the sector to look at alternative ways to support fire and rescue services.

The news was welcomed by the Chief Fire Officers' Association (CFOA) – but it warned against the policy being taken too far.

The CFOA was keen to work with the government on different structures leading to better public service delivery, said president John Bonney.

But he added: “It is critical to ensure that localism does not lead to parochialism when it comes to services operating across the country to meet national resilience requirements.”

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