Gloucestershire County Council will oppose further proposals for PCC Martin Surl to take over fire services

Earlier this year, the county council rejected an offer to discuss the idea with Mr Surl after the Home Office announced that PCCs across the country could make the case for taking responsibility of fire services.

Ministers argued the move could lead to savings and a combined approach in the way police and fire services work together.

But the county council said that it would cost money to transfer control to the PCC, and there would be very few savings, if any.

Mr Surl in March accepted £100,000 of government money to fund an independent review to see whether he should take over responsibility of the fire service.

But yesterday, Conservative councillors on GCC backed a Liberal Democrat motion to reject any attempts to transfer the responsibility of fire services away from the council.

Cllr Nigel Moor, cabinet member for fire, said: “The way we work today saves the fire service money – with the county council providing a range of services, like HR and property, for free.

“Because fire and social services work so closely together, we have pioneered new ways of keeping people safe – for example targeting fire safety checks on the most vulnerable older people, and using retained firefighters to respond to telecare alarms.

“Passing control to the PCC would undermine that cooperation, cut funding for the fire service, and waste millions on the costs of change.”

Cllr Jeremy Hilton, who put forward the motion, said there was no need for the fire service, “regarded as one of the best if not the best in the country”, to be ‘tampered’ with.

He said: “Our fire service is very good value for money at only £34 per head of population to operate.

"It would be absurd to change the governance arrangements of such a good service on a whim.

“I very much doubt that it would bring much in the way of benefits and could instead severely damage the excellent collaboration that already exists between the blue light services based at the county's Tri-Service Centre in Quedgeley.

"I am strongly opposed to the unnecessary tampering of any service that isn't broke and doesn't require fixing.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl (pictured below) however clarified that taking over the fire service was not something he himself had sought but was something the government has asked PCCs to consider.

He said he would keep an “open mind” until the review funded by the government published its findings and he is able to consult with “relevant bodies, including the public”.

He added: “I find it very frustrating that Jeremy Hilton insist on making this a personal issue and am even more surprised that the Conservatives on the County Council should appear so opposed to one of their own government’s initiatives.

“If Mr Hilton thinks Gloucestershire has the best fire and rescue service in the country, why did the council’s leaders not make that case when I invited them to discuss this issue last October? Had they done so, it might not have been necessary for the Home Office to fund an independent review.”