Date: 3rd December 2002
Released by: ANDREW TURNER

Andrew Turner, the Island’s MP, has called for the IW Council to act now to ensure that any joint call-centre, set up following the firemen’s strike, is based here on the Island rather than relocated to share the police call-centre at Netley. He said that it had become clear in recent days that the Government intends the ‘modernization’ of the fire service to include the establishment of joint control rooms.

Andrew Turner said,

“The Council must work now with those emergency services still being controlled on the Island to ensure that those services and most importantly those jobs, stay here. Although I understand that the problems experienced by the police centre at Netley have eased recently, most Islanders would prefer that that service had remained on the Island.

“The Government are determined to join control of fire services with that of other emergency services. Only by making effective progress towards co-ordination of the remaining emergency services can we hope to prevent Netley from handling all emergency calls for the Island. This is largely an issue for the Council and other local employers such as the NHS trust but I will support them in any way I can to help prevent more ‘job creep’ from the Island.

“I visited Island firemen on their picket line to hear their concerns and found that they are not as dogmatically opposed to joint control centres as many seem to be on the mainland. Many firemen accept that there will be a straight choice between joint control based either on the Island or at Netley, and as Islanders they care about local jobs.

“I visited Wightcare’s control centre in Newport earlier this week, and was impressed to see how they manage not only the Island’s emergency call service for elderly people at home, and the CCTV network, but also a scheme to protect professionals who have to visit people at home both on the Island and on the mainland. I need to know how our other emergency services feel about the matter and will be contacting them for their comments. I would also welcome the views of anybody concerned about this matter.

“But the key point about this matter is that we stand to lose our fire control to the mainland (because that is a Government objective in settling the firemen’s strike) and following that control of other services. Few will forgive the local authorities if they do not seize this opportunity, and possibly last chance, to establish on the Island a single centre for emergency controls so that there is no argument to take them to the mainland.”