Fire Service Centralisation Would Make Control Rooms A 'Terror Target'

9.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 29th Sep 2003

Hampshire MEP Chris Huhne today warned that the Government's plans to abolish the Hampshire Fire Service and centralise fire control in a huge south east region could make the control room a prime terror target.

Mr Huhne said that the Government was full of rhetoric about local control, but when it came to action, ministers liked to centralise control in Whitehall. 'It would be madness to create a fire authority run by an unelected quango to cover a region of 8 million people' said Mr Huhne.

'Look at what happens when you have large systems that fail: you get blackouts like Italy this weekend. It is much better to have independent systems that are not vulnerable to catastrophic failure. Small is sensible. Big is vulnerable' said Mr Huhne. 'These centralising plans are classic old Labour big government where ministers argue that the man from the ministry knows best. He doesn't.

'Certainly, small fire authorities can co-operate to make savings in procurement and in running joint control centres, but one authority covering the whole of the South East would be a prime target for terrorists as you could deprive an area of 8 million people of fire cover at a stroke. That is equivalent to the population of Austria.

'Moreover, most of the supposed benefits that arise from economies of scale are mythical. They never materialise because the systems become so large and impersonal that management is no longer able to manage effectively' said Mr Huhne.

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