Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service left fuming as Suffolk announces ‘out of the blue’ that it will leave combined fire control centre

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been left shocked by a decision that came “out of the blue” from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service to pull out of their combined control centre at the end of 2024.

The move will leave Cambridgeshire’s service short of £500,000 a year.

The two services have operated successfully together from a combined control centre at Cambridgeshire’s headquarters in Huntingdon for 12 years.

The first merger of fire control centres in the country, the site manages 999 calls, mobilises fire engines, specialist vehicles and officers to incidents and is estimated to have saved the public purse £12million.

But last Friday (June 16), Cambridgeshire’s service was informed that Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service intended to create its own Suffolk-based control room, and indicated that it was unhappy about “significant delays” in the delivery of a new IT system at the combined centre, caused by “technical and financial problems” at its supplier.

Cambridgeshire retorted that good progress was now being made - and the system would be in place before Suffolk’s new centre is up and running.

Cambridgeshire’s chief fire officer, Chris Strickland, said: “There had been no talk of Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service pulling out of the collaboration until last Friday, so it has all come as a complete surprise.

“There have been some delays implementing the new control system, mainly due to the Covid pandemic, current economic climate and some internal structure changes within the supplier’s organisation, however things are now progressing well and we hope to have the system live in early 2024.

“We met with Suffolk’s chief fire officer and others from their leadership team three weeks ago and agreed our position, deciding that we would meet again in July to review progress. So the news last Friday came out of the blue.”

It represents a financial blow to Cambridgeshire, which put up council tax by 6.6 per cent this year to help fund shortfalls in its budget, exacerbated by the county’s growing population.

Mr Strickland said: “The control collaboration saves us at least £500k a year. We are a lean and efficient organisation and this is not an insignificant amount of money that will now need to be found year on year. It is too early to say how we will find this additional money, but we will review our financial business continuity plans and see how this can be funded.”

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority, which oversees the service, was left fuming.

Its chair, county councillor Edna Murphy (Lib Dem, Bar Hill), said: “We were informed last Friday by Suffolk’s chief fire officer that they were withdrawing from our successful and nationally recognised partnership, which has helped keep people safe and also saved taxpayers £12million since 2011.

“We had no notice of Suffolk’s intentions and would have preferred to discuss the way forward together. However, they have made their decision and now we must look to secure the best possible outcome for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough residents.

“We will continue with the implementation of our new control system and will try to minimise the impact of the extra costs on service provision. I hope we may yet succeed in restoring what has been an effective partnership and so we remain open to further cooperation.”

Announcing its plans, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service acknowledged that the “joint project has worked well, saving both fire services money and enabling greater cross border resource sharing”.

But it noted: “The company behind a project to deliver a new IT system, initiated in 2019, has run into technical and financial problems, causing a significant delay. This, in addition to advancements in technology, has led to the decision to bring fire control back into the county by the end of 2024.”

It said the new Suffolk-based control room would feature “its own market tried and tested fire engine mobilisation software”, and would “mean modernised IT systems and improved public and firefighter safety in Suffolk”.

Jon Lacey, chief fire officer at Suffolk Fire and Rescue, said: “Following detailed talks with Cambridgeshire the decision has been made to bring fire control back into Suffolk. This decision has not been taken lightly and will take time to implement, however, we are confident it is achievable and the right way forward.

“Clearly a lot of time has gone into our collaborative work to date, so I would like to thank the teams for doing everything they could to make this work.

“Communities in Suffolk will not be impacted by this decision. We remain committed to providing excellent prevention, protection, and response to our residents.”

The decision will need approval by Suffolk County Council’s cabinet in September 2023.

Cllr Andrew Reid, cabinet member for fire and public protection at Suffolk County Council, said: “We have enjoyed a successful partnership with Cambridgeshire and it served as a national example of how well sharing resources across counties could work.

“It is time, however, to bring fire control back into our county and under direct Suffolk leadership.

“We are committed to delivering the most effective and efficient services to our residents, and in this case it is essential that we strive to find and develop a solution which is robust, sustainable and works for Suffolk.”

Mr Strickland added: “The communities of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk remain our highest priority and so we will continue to work towards implementing the best possible mobilising system for both authorities as soon as we can.

“I have received the personal assurance of Suffolk’s chief fire officer that he shares the same aim and so I am confident that people in both counties will continue to receive an effective and professional service when they need to ring 999 in an emergency.”