Fire and rescue

Abstract

The supposed ‘success’ of Theresa May’s police reform has justified the ‘model’ for recent reform of the Fire and Rescue Services. Fire and Rescue Services entered the period of the coalition government on an improving and accelerating service delivery trajectory, albeit still trailing the other services. The coalition government’s ‘austerity localism’; aligned to financial constraints turned this direction of travel on its’ head. By 2015 and 2016, both the NAO and PAC were demanding significant regime change in the service. Since 2015, there have been improvements to accountability and transparency, (it would be difficult not to act and act decisively, given the inadequacy of previous arrangements). More recently differences between promises and implementation, ambitions, and delivery are beginning to appear.