Bedfordshire Fire Authority defends re-appointment of chief fire office amid criticism

During yesterday’s Executive Meeting (Wednesday, January 29) a member of the public asked what the “exceptional circumstances” were when making this decision.

Ms Sue Gray said, via email, that the chief fire officer had been in post for a “number of years” and was previously the deputy chief for several years before that.

“What are the exceptional circumstances relating to public safety that required the fire authority to go against the national framework and decide to re-engage an individual whose leadership has led the authority into exceptional circumstances of public safety?” she asked.

Councillor Jacqueline Burnett (Luton), the chair of the fire authority, said the decision taken was in accordance with the National Fire Act.

“The elected members in attendance had a long debate and much consideration was given to public safety, which was at the heart of the discussions alongside the national framework,” she said.

“We never lost sight of colleagues and residents in our debate and we know that consistency in leadership is key during this pressure time of change.

“The [fire authority] passed the motion of the re-engagement of the chief fire officer on a time-limited basis by a majority vote because of the need to deliver current organizational plans.

“[Which] will ensure public safety and enable succession planning arrangements to be put in place.”

Ms Gray’s second question was on the information used to make this decision.

“Can the fire authority confirm the information they used to make their original decision in October wasn’t solely made based on the report and opinion of a consultant commissioned by the person directly set to financially gain from its outcome?” she asked.

Councillor Burnett said the chief fire officer did not commission the report, and nor was he involved in its recommendation.

“We fully refute any suggestion that our chief fire officer was in any way directly or indirectly responsible for the options report on re-engagement,” she said.

“This is potentially a libellous allegation and it would be for us as an authority to call that out and correct this impression on the record.

“The fire authority uses a variety of sources of information to make their decision in October 2024 including our own experiences of working with colleagues in the fire service, information received at members’ workshops, fire authority papers and regular meetings with service leadership to ensure that we have a full picture of the fire service,” she said.