Officials face grilling over fire project

The Public Accounts Committee will demand to know how the project – which has left a new centre in Wakefield empty after the project was axed when problems with the computer systems sent costs spiralling – was so badly handled.

It comes as Fire Minister Bob Neill pledged £81m to fire and rescue authorities to draw up ways of improving efficiency and resilience, one of the driving forces behind Labour’s regional plans.

None of the four fire services in Yorkshire has expressed an interest in using the Wakefield building, and Mr Neill said the Department of Local Government and Communities would work with them to draw up a national framework so services can respond to large-scale emergencies.

Responding to a consultation on the future of fire control services, Mr Neill said it was better for services to agree their own plans to collaborate than be dictated to by Ministers.

He said: “The great majority of those responding to the consultation agreed with the Government’s preferred approach of achieving improved resilience and efficiency through encouraging increased collaboration in a locally-determined way – with some Government support.

“Our strategy for the future is to build national resilience through local solutions.”