Staffordshire Commissioner Ben Adams today welcomed the Fire Minister, Lord Stephen Greenhalgh to Hanley Fire and Police, where he had the opportunity to see both services working together under one roof.
Lord Greenhalgh met police officers and firefighters and heard their experiences of sharing the Hanley site, as well as learning about plans for further collaboration between the two services.
Response police officers moved into the building from a nearby police station in January. The move has been well received by officers and staff, providing a fit-for-purpose, modern environment for both and allowing closer working. It also makes better use of public money and resources by saving money on two premises, which had been within walking distance of each other.
Hanley is another key step in police and fire collaborating. It follows the successful move in 2019 to a shared site in Tamworth and the development so far of shared services and staffing in areas such as Estates, Procurement, Human Resources, Finance and Corporate Communications.
Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime, Ben Adams said: ‘Hanley is a wonderful example of the opportunity we have to develop police and fire services fit for the 21st century, working alongside each other to keep our communities safe.
‘It was great to be able to share with Lord Greenhalgh the progress we are already making in Staffordshire to forge closer links between the two services, and make better use of public money and resources.’
Fire Minister, Lord Greenhalgh said: ‘I am pleased to be in Staffordshire today to see the new Hanley site in action and witness the vital work that our police and firefighters do under one roof.
‘Ben is one of the first four Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners in the country. Each of them is improving collaboration between their police and fire services to make them more effective and efficient, something I hope to see more of.
‘Our upcoming White Paper on Fire Reform aims to improve this already fantastic work carried out by our emergency services.’
Chief Fire Officer Becci Bryant said: ‘Hanley is a great place to work and we have a real one team ethos between the two services.
‘Of course both organisations are committed to keeping the public safe and working closely together is of great benefit as we share information and learn more about our communities and their needs.
‘It has been an exciting few months as both teams have settled in and I look forward to any future opportunities to collaborate and improve our service to local people.’
Temporary Chief Constable Emma Barnett said: ‘This has been a complex project, but a real success story for Staffordshire and an opportunity for the two organisations to work closely together and learn from each other.
‘This can only be a positive for our communities in terms of service delivery as well as efficiency and cost saving. I hope the Minister was able to observe today the modern and positive working environment we have created.’
