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News & Events What's New Find out what's happening in County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service - remember, we are always pleased to hear from you - send us your feedback and comments.
The new VoiceBank number for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service is 0871 550 4043.
This 24-hour - 365 day service is provides voice recorded messages for members of the media to ensure access to around the clock information on incidents attended by the Fire and Rescue Service within the County Durham and Darlington area.
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| 16.02.06 | Fire & Rescue Authority sets budget for 2006/07
County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority, meeting today (16 February) at County Hall, Durham, has approved a budget of £26.764million for the provision of a fire and rescue service throughout 2006/07.
The Authority has also agreed to request a Council Tax charge of £77.04 per household (figure based on a Council Tax Band D property).
Susan Johnson, Chief Executive at County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, said: “As a Fire and Rescue Service, our number one priority is to protect life and property and to ensure the safety of residents in the County Durham and Darlington area.
“Members of the Authority have approved what we believe to be an extremely prudent budget that will enable us to maintain a reliable and effective service whilst ensuring that we address the requirement to demonstrate value for money.”
This year’s approved budget of £26.764million is a reduction from the previous year’s (2005/06) budget requirement of approximately £0.7million. This reduction reflects changes to the funding of firefighter pensions, with the majority of pension costs now funded separately from the Authority’s annual budget. Central Government funding available to the Authority has been reduced to reflect this change.
The increase in Council Tax charge from the previous year for the Fire and Rescue Service has been kept to a minimum, with the Authority approving savings of almost £600,000 in 2006/07 to ensure the increase of £3.60 per Band ‘D’ household has been kept as low as possible.
Members of the Authority now await a decision from Government officials as to whether the approved budget is acceptable.
Councillor Charles Magee, Chairman of the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority, said: “The Fire and Rescue Authority has faced a challenging year as the pace of change required to meet the expectations of our local communities and Government continues to accelerate.
“Over the last three years, the Service has experienced a period of limited funding in addition to meeting the demands of this modernisation programme; financially, the coming year will be incredibly challenging and we shall continue to look at every aspect of the Service to identify savings and efficiencies whilst maintaining a fire and rescue service that meets the expectations and requirements of residents and businesses throughout County Durham and Darlington.” | |
| 16.01.06 | Time for new 'Drinks' measures
A NEW approach to tackling licensing issues has been agreed in County Durham and Darlington.
National changes to the licensing regulations introduced at the end of November mean the police, fire service and local authorities have statutory duties in certain areas. These include the duty to prevent crime and disorder, promote public safety and protect children from harm.
Because of this a joint enforcement protocol has been agreed between the police and Darlington Borough Council, Co Durham and Darlington Fire & Rescue Service, Durham County Council and the local district councils.
The protocol sets out the procedure for dealing with licensing applications, reviews of individual premises, trading standards issues and criminal matters. Breaches of fire regulations, and environmental health legislation are also covered by the agreement. | |
| 12/01/06 | Fire & Rescue Authority responds to Audit Commission report
Fire and Rescue Authority responds to Audit Commission report ‘Learning from Comprehensive Performance Assessment for the Fire and Rescue Service'
County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority welcomes the independent report published by the Audit Commission which draws together the findings of first-ever individual comprehensive performance assessments for fire and rescue authorities undertaken last summer.
County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority was rated as a ‘fair’ Authority by the Audit Commission following completion of this rigorous assessment process, which focuses on how well the Authority is being managed by senior managers and Authority members - not on how well it responds to emergency incidents.
In the report, the Audit Commission recognises that fire and rescue authorities across England and Wales are working towards modernisation but that the pace of change varies substantially between authorities. It highlights key areas for further work, including diversity within the workplace, working conditions and practices, as well as performance management and leadership.
Cllr Charles Magee, Chairman of the Combined Fire Authority, said: “On behalf of the Combined Fire Authority, I welcome the Audit Commission’s publication of the independent report ’Learning from Comprehensive Performance Assessment for the Fire and Rescue Service’.
“Nationally, the report has highlighted a number of key areas for fire and rescue authorities to address to ensure that services are keeping pace with the ambitious modernisation programme set by Government, in particular, that services can demonstrate diversity in the workplace, modern working practices, good performance management and sound strategic leadership.
“I am confident that County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority have taken positive steps forward in these areas, such as the introduction of a programme of positive action days to encourage more women to consider a career in the Fire and Rescue Service, a range of new staff working policies as well as the implementation of a revised performance monitoring process.
“We are also working closely with our neighbouring fire and rescue authorities on regional projects, such as the new Regional Control Centre at Durham and a regional procurement strategy, which will realise long-term savings and efficiencies across the services we provide.
“All aspects of our work, both regional and local, are driven by our desire to provide residents and businesses with a good quality, value for money, fire and rescue service that protects and improves the communities it serves and I look forward to continuing this work with staff and colleagues throughout the coming year.” | |
| 29/11/05 | Fire & Rescue Service commences public consultation
County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority has commenced a 12-week consultation period with local residents and communities - asking for their views on its Integrated Risk Management: draft Year 3 Improvement Plan for 2006/07.
The Plan sets out how the Authority intends to improve the services it provides and its strategy for driving down risk to life and property in the communities of County Durham and Darlington. | |
| 7/11/2005 | Service introduces new District Community Teams
County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service has created six new District teams to provide communities with ‘on their doorstep’ access to community safety support and advice in their local area.
The new District teams, which have been aligned to Local Authority Community Safety Partnerships, include a District Station Manager, community safety specialists and a fire legislation specialist. | |
| 01/11/05 | Fairground attraction at Fireworks event
FINAL preparations are in hand for next week’s emergency services bonfire night event – one of the biggest in the region.
And organisers of the joint police and fire brigade spectacular have arranged a new attraction this year in the shape of a fairground, with rides both for kiddies and those a few years older.
The 30th annual bonfire and fireworks display is expected to once again attract a crowd of several thousand people to police headquarters, Aykley Heads next Friday, November 4th. | |
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| 27/08/05 | North-East Brigades to build Regional Control Centre in Durham
FIRE control services in the North East will be provided by one of the first modern Regional Control Centres for the Fire and Rescue Service following the announcement by ODPM minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP, that the new centre will be built at Belmont Business Park, Durham. The new control centre will be built by Helios Properties plc and is expected to be operational in 2008. read more... | |
| 28/07/05 | County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority has been rated as a ‘fair’ Authority by the Audit Commission in the first ever round of Comprehensive Performance Assessments for Fire and Rescue Authorities.
Comprehensive Performance Assessment is a rigorous assessment process which looks purely at how well a Fire and Rescue Authority is being managed by senior managers and Authority members – not on how well it responds to emergency incidents – and has been introduced by Government as part of a wider programme to drive improvement in the delivery of local services to the public.read more... | |
| 29/06/05 | County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority has published its Strategic Plan 2005-10.
This key document sets out the Fire and Rescue Service’s priorities, its financial and operational performance, key achievements and its plans for the future. The Plan also includes the Authority’s Best Value Performance and Business Plans for the coming year.Click Here | |
| 20/06/05 | County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority has elected Councillor Charles Magee as its new Chairman at the Annual General Meeting of the Authority held last week (17 June) at Service Headquarters, Framwellgate Moor, Durham.
At the same meeting, Councillor Tom Forster was elected as Vice-Chairman to the Authority. | |
| 18/05/05 | County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority has appointed Susan Johnson OBE, former Executive Director, Business Development at Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency, to the post of Chief Executive at County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service.
The appointment means Susan will be the first woman and
non-uniformed chief executive to lead a Fire and Rescue Service in the United Kingdom.
Susan is expected to commence duties on 29 July 2005. | |
| 25/04/05 | County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service is celebrating the success of a partnership approach which has led to a 27% reduction in deliberate fires and incidents of arson in the County Durham and Darlington area over a single year.
The reduction follows the development and launch of a multi-agency Arson Reduction Strategy – a unique pact between the Police, Fire and Rescue Service and local District and Borough Councils to work together to drive down acts of arson and anti-social behaviour in the County Durham and Darlington area. | |
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