Senedd Member, Joel James MS has today contributed to the Senedd Debate on the Equality and Social Justice Committee Report, 'Sound the Alarm: The Governance of Fire and Rescue Services'.
During his contribution, Joel stated that the "panicked reaction" by the Welsh Government and Commissioners, to the findings of the Morris review and their rapid removal of the Chief Fire Officer Huw Jakeway ultimately led to an operational vacuum at the service which consequently worsened the situation.
The Member also highlighted that the Morris review "did not consider much, if any, of the good practice that went on" and he believes that this helped fuel the widespread public condemnation of the fire service at the time.
Speaking about Mr Stuart Millington and his appointment as Interim Chief Fire Officer, the Member called this a mistake by the Commissioners given that he was facing a pending employment tribunal hearing of his own at the time.
Joel also questioned the Cabinet Secretary on timeliness, given that serving members of staff at the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service state that little has actually changed since the Morris review. The Member closed by stating:
Accepting the recommendations of the committee report is one thing, but implementing those changes in a timely manner is quite another. It appears that the pace of the response from the Welsh Government and the commissioners needs to change, because you just can’t let dedicated fire service personnel feel like they have been forgotten, and not a priority.
To watch Joel's contribution in full, please click here.
To read the full report, please click here.
