Local Government Finance Bill

It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. I want to speak in support of amendment 48 and take this opportunity to ask the Minister to meet me and colleagues from the west midlands, and members and officials from the region's fire authority, to discuss how our fire service is funded. I reiterate the remarks made by my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Chris Williamson), who asked the Minister to consider the case for safety net payments to be made where funding would otherwise be below that required by a force to follow the integrated risk management plan. The Prime Minister promised that front-line services would be safeguarded, yet the services that my constituents receive are being affected as a direct result of the way in which fire services in the west midlands are being funded and of the cuts and savings being made. I am worried that, as my hon. Friend said, there is substantial risk of some authorities having less funding than is required to fulfil their duties. I want to talk a little about the situation in my constituency to illustrate those concerns. When Sedgley fire station closed three years or so ago, the station in Dudley got an extra targeted response vehicle, in addition to its two engines. Under new proposals set out by the fire authority, one engine will go, and the TRV will be replaced by a brigade response vehicle—an adapted Range Rover—leaving the town of Dudley, despite its size, with one engine and the new response vehicle. When Sedgley closed down, the authority said that parts of Sedgley would be covered by fire engines from the Tipton station, but that is to lose an engine, too. All fire and rescue services were expecting cuts as part of the comprehensive spending review settlement, and had been planning well in advance to protect the service provided to their communities, but the cuts have presented some with more of a challenge than others.