Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority Consultation

Welcome to the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Consultation homepage. As an organisation we have always been committed to consultation with our stakeholders and we invest a great deal of public resource into our processes and procedures.

Indeed our consultation commitments are so extensive that we have recently established a Consultation Unit to provide open and transparent consultation with its staff, representative bodies and the public.

We believe that it is important that we are accountable for how the Fire and Rescue Service is providing protection to the people of Merseyside and how it is spending public money.

One of the key stakeholders are our unions and we provide very extensive support to achieve consultation with all trade unions.  We have also agreed a Joint Consultation Protocol which commits MF&RS to act proactively in providing interested parties with information on its plans and future activities.

This section of our website will enable anyone with access to the internet ( employees, members of the public and any other interested bodies) to track the progression on consultation issues.Letters, key documents and other records relating to matters under consultation are accessible by clicking here.

In addition to those matters which are the subject of formal consultation we are also involved in continuous dialogue with partners and stakeholders over a range of issues relevant to the delivery of a high quality public service.Letters, key documents and other records relating to this dialogue are accessible by clicking here. This section of the website includes such topics as the business of the Joint Secretaries, Disputes & Collective Grievances and the Health & Safety Committee.

FAQs.

What facilities do you provide for trade unions?
We provide very extensive facilities to support local collective bargaining, in accordance with recognised (ACAS) good practice. As a basic principle/policy we provide 1.5 hours paid time off per trade union member for paid time off to trade union officials. Thus, in the case of 1000 members, this would equate to 15000 hours paid time off. In practice we far exceed this level of support.

We also provide additional facilities for Heath and Safety officials and Equality and Diversity officials.

We provide a notice board at every workplace in accordance with good practice.
In addition we also support a Learning Fund Co-ordinator from the FBU who works in support of improved learning within the organisation.

How much does this cost the taxpayer?
A rough figure would be around �250k per year and we have invited the District Auditor to undertake a more detailed analysis and assessment of this cost, however the Auditor has declined this invitation. 

How does this benefit the taxpayer?
We hope that this investment leads to better engagement with our employees and hopefully mitigate against industrial relations problems.

2011 Budget decision Podcast

	Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority has announced a council tax freeze and the loss of more than 170 jobs in setting its 2011/12 budget. The Authority confirmed it had received the worst Government grant cut of any UK Fire and Rescue Authority � a 13% reduction over the next two years. Below you can view a Podcast of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Assistant Chief Executive and Treasurer Kieran Timmins explaining how more than �9m of savings will be achieved.
	To watch any of the Windows Media files you will need Windows Media Player 7 or above. The Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service is offering the option to download the very latest version of Windows Media Player 11 Series. Click the icon to the left to download your totally free version from Microsoft.