PCC thanks Norfolk public for response as fire governance consultation closes

For two months, the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Lorne Green has been seeking views about his ‘A Case for Change’ proposals.

Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS) is currently governed by Norfolk County Council’s Communities Committee which also oversees a number of departments including libraries, museums, archives and arts.

Under the PCC's proposals, Lorne would become Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), taking on the governance of the fire service alongside that of fellow emergency service Norfolk Constabulary.

Believing this to be a much better way of working for a safer Norfolk, the PCC launched an eight-week public consultation on 11 July. That consultation officially closed at 5pm on Wednesday (5 September).

Over the past eight weeks, Lorne has been encouraging the Norfolk public, key stakeholders and partner agencies to have their say. He has travelled from King’s Lynn to Gorleston, Cromer to Diss, and Loddon to Hunstanton speaking with people, answering questions and gathering views. People have also been having their say in other ways, including online, by email, by letter and by phone.

“I believe that, as a public servant, I have a duty to explore every possibility to deliver public services in the most effective, most efficient and most economical way”, Lorne said.

“There is a case for change where governance of our fire service is concerned. I chose to take that case to public consultation as I strongly believe it would enable us to do even more to protect the vulnerable and make our communities even safer. It was, however, really important to me that people had the opportunity to make up their own minds and share their views with me.”

“The eight-week consultation period has now ended. There has been a huge level of response from the Norfolk public, partners and stakeholders - far exceeding any consultation run by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCCN), or indeed many of our public sector partners, before. At this stage, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to consider my proposal and submit their views.

“Regarding next steps, my office, with the help of an independent panel, will now take the required time to thoroughly analyse the results and comments received. This will allow a full consultation response report to be compiled.

“Once that piece of work is completed, it will then be down to me to consider that report and all the feedback – which will, of course, be made public – before making a decision on how to proceed.”