The county councillor responsible for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has again cautioned against the police and crime commissioner taking control of the brigade.
Cllr Morris Bright, the executive member for public health and community safety, spoke out less than a month after the election of Conservative Jonathan Ash-Edwards to oversee Hertfordshire Constabulary.
In 2017, his predecessor as police and crime commissioner, David Lloyd, submitted a controversial bid to take control of the fire and rescue service from the county council.
He had argued that bringing the two emergency services together, as in neighbouring Essex, would cut costs, enable better joint working and improve public safety.
But he ‘suspended’ that application in 2018, after signing a formal agreement with the county council to look at ways the police and the fire service could work together.
Cllr Bright told a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (May 21): “Yes, we work together. Yes, we work in tandem. Yes, we work in parallel with each other. But there is no need to merge.”
Cllr Bright made the remarks in response to a question posed by fellow Conservative Cllr Sunny Thusu.
Cllr Bright told the meeting that the debate had raged for almost a decade since the Government allowed fire and police services to be overseen by a single commissioner.
He referred to the close relationship between the blue light services in Hertfordshire – but also the different roles of the police and fire services.
He said: “I am particularly keen – when we see the results of the inspection this year – that we show that Hertfordshire really holds its head up high amongst fire and rescue services across the country.
“And also, respectfully, fire and rescue is probably still the only of the major institutions where if you see something coming towards you, you are smiling.
“Sadly that has not been the case with other institutions.
“Police have got a bit of a reputational issue. I am sure that’s going to be dealt with in the next coming of years.
“I want to maintain our particularly excellent reputation for the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
“We will continue to work with the police. We will do everything we can to make our areas safer – public safety, community safety – but we will continue to do so as two separate entities.”