Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire (): The Government is today
publishing its response to a recent public consultation on
establishing minimum service levels on strike days for fire and
rescue services. At the same time, the Government is laying
regulations before Parliament setting out the services which
should be provided on a strike day, together with the level of
service to be provided.
The services that are provided by fire and rescue authorities are
critical to the safety of the public, protection of property and
the environment. It is therefore vital that these services are
available to the public during strike action. We believe that the
prescribed minimum service level balances the ability of workers
to strike with the needs of the public to access these crucial
services during strike periods.
Minimum service levels exist in a range of countries globally.
The International Labour Organisation (an agency of the United
Nations) recognises that this is justifiable for services where
their interruption would endanger citizens’ lives, personal
safety or health. Disruption to fire and rescue services puts
lives at immediate risk.
The regulations address the uncertainty of relying on voluntary
agreements with unions and arrangements for military or private
contractors to provide firefighting capabilities by giving
employers the power to issue work notices. This will increase
public confidence in the service and better protect public safety
during periods of industrial action.
All fire and rescue authorities (FRAs) in England will be subject
to these regulations.
Under the regulations the services included are control rooms,
emergency incident response and fire safety. This will ensure
that an FRA is able to answer all emergency calls, deploy
suitable vehicles and equipment to respond to emergencies and
that serious fire safety issues can be managed while strikes are
taking place. This may include deploying trained staff to crew
national resilience assets should they be required. This will
ensure that the activities carried out on a strike day are those
that are essential to public safety and that they are prioritised
as such.
On 20 July 2023, the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023
received Royal Assent. The Act sets out the powers and processes
required to deliver minimum service levels, beginning with a
power for the Secretary of State to make regulations regarding
which services should be in scope for minimum service levels, and
the level of service which must be provided on a strike day. The
Act also sets out that before any such regulations are made, the
Secretary of State must consult with such persons as they
consider appropriate. The Secretary of State for the Home
Department held a public consultation for the fire and rescue
sector between 9 February and 11 May 2023.
A copy of the consultation response, equality impact assessment
and economic impact assessment will be placed in the Libraries of
both Houses.
The consultation response has been published on GOV.UK. The
Government wishes to thank everybody who took the time to provide
feedback as part of the consultation process.
