Blue-light 999 services may be merged in bid to cut costs

Published on Friday 3 September 2010 20:21

Radical plans to create a "single blue light" service, merging police, fire and ambulance crews, have been revealed by a Scottish local authority as it grapples with a looming budget deficit.

Highland Council has proposed creating one emergency service to serve the north of Scotland, sharing budgets, buildings and backroom staff.

The idea has received a cautious welcome from the Scottish Government, raising the possibility that similar models could be created across the country.

Police and fire chiefs are already considering a change to their structures in the face of budget cuts of up to 25 per cent over four years. The Scottish Ambulance Service is already a national organisation. Single blue light services could either complement, or be an alternative to, national structures.

Highland Council leader Dr Michael Foxley said: "If these are centralised, and there is one police force based in Glasgow or Edinburgh, and one fire service as well as one Scottish Ambulance Service, we lose out in terms of people who work in the Highlands and Islands and on the quality of the service."

Police and fire services are jointly funded through local authorities and the Scottish Government, meaning Highland Council would need backing from Holyrood for any such plans.

If it wanted to include paramedics, it would also need the agreement of Scottish Ambulance Service. However, both said they were prepared to discuss the subject.

Chief Constable Ian Latimer, whose Northern Constabulary covers an area the size of Belgium, said he was "open to discussion" on a single emergency service for the region.

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He has previously raised concerns that creating a single, centralised Scottish force would take focus away from rural areas and leave them vulnerable to a rise in crime.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "While we have no current plans for a single blue light service, we welcome the dialogue following publication of the Independent Budget Review, and constructive suggestions will be listened to prior to any decisions being taken."

A Scottish Ambulance Service Spokesman added: "We are a national service and have in recent years managed to achieve significant efficiencies. We would be happy to discuss Highland Council's plans with them."

Highland Council, which faces making up to 50 million in savings over three years, has already investigated merging other services with neighbouring councils.

Mr Latimer said: "If a blue light service is a viable option, supported by an evidence-based case, we are open to such discussion as part of a longer term integrated public service model for the Highlands and Islands."

However moves to amalgamate blue light organisations have usually met with opposition. Last month, a proposal for Lothian and Borders and Fife fire brigades to share a chief officer was vetoed.There have also been a series of moves to merge police forces or even create a single force for Scotland.

The Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service has 1,500 staff in 123 units, including one full-time station in Inverness, 95 retained stations and 27 community response units.

No senior fire officer was available for comment yesterday.

Chief Constable Cliff Anderson, general secretary of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), said: "The police service is facing serious reductions to its budget in the coming years.

"In order to prepare for the new environment in which we will have to operate, Acpos is carrying out two reviews - one of policing standards, identifying options that would allow us to operate more efficiently. We are also reviewing where efficiencies can be made in terms of business process and how forces can collaborate more effectively between each other and partner agencies."

Les Gray, chairman of the Scottish Policing Federation, said: "Anything that saves money and still provides the same service has to be seriously looked at.

"It would be churlish to say that is a police building or that is a fire service building, and no-one else can use it. However, I don't know how the complexities of a shared budget would work. It would not be ideal to have one pot of money, so if the fire service overspends, the police suffer, and vice versa."