Frequently Asked Questions

Some answers to a few frequently asked questions.

How long is the 'Fire Service Options' consultation?

The consultation process is running from November 2006 through to January 2006. Various public meetings are being held for views to be expressed. Anyone may attend the public meetings; details and dates of the public meetings are here.

What about the current, ongoing merger of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Services?

Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Services are currently undertaking a voluntary merger plan, which is now costing ten times the initial projected cost.

How much would a full merger cost me as an Island tax payer?

No figures are currently available from the Isle of Wight Council or Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.

It has been suggested that there would be savings of £25 per council tax payer (for a band D property). However, it has been admitted that there may be no savings until six years after the merger had taken place.

Additionally no figures are available for the precept (an additional charge levied on your Council tax - as per the precept levied for Hampshire Constabulary policing charge to Isle of Wight residents) for the first or subsequent years followinga merger.

What about the £600,000 saved by the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service over the past two years?

Whilst not in the original document prepared by the consultant, it has been confirmed that £600,000 has been saved by the management of the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service over the past two years, as part of the modernisation process.

None of this saving has been passed onto to Island council tax payers by the Isle of Wight Council adminstration.

What about the regionalisation of the Island's Fire Control?

As at November 2006, the Island's Fire Control (based in Newport, Isle of Wight) is due to be merged along with eight other counties (Hampshire, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire) into one regional control in Fareham, Hampshire, in November 2009.

The regionalisation for Fire Controls (called the FiReControl project by the now defunct Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (John Prescott) - now administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government) is costing £1bn, which is up 46% from the original projected cost of £754m. The project could cost £2bn and is currently running two years behind schedule.

As at June 2006, £35m has been spent on consultants by the Department for Communities and Local Government on the FiReControl Project.

Emergency 999 calls to the Fire and Rescue Service will routinely be routed around the country when the regional fire control reaches capacity.

How much is the 'Fire Service Options' process costing?

The proposal documents, prepared by a consultant, and related work is costing around £85,000 from the Isle of Wight Council budget.