Crisis in Privatised Fire Service Vehicle Fleets
CIRCULAR 2011HOC0308MW
12 July 2011
TO: ALL MEMBERS
Dear Brother/Sister
You will be aware that the Fire Service vehicle fleets in London and in Lincolnshire were privatised some time ago and have been owned and managed by AssetCo. We have highlighted for some considerable time the failure of these privatisations as AssetCo has stumbled from one financial crisis to another. Over the past week this has led to court hearings and the possibility that the company may be taken over or wound up. This in turn raises a whole series of other questions and concerns about what will happen to the fire engines and equipment in the event of the collapse of the firm. Nobody in Government or in either Fire Service has made any serious attempt to address this matter.
We have also raised concerns about the possibility that AssetCo may be bought by a Bahrain based bank. These concerns are outlined in the attached letter sent to Fire Minister (for England) Bob Neill.
This disastrous episode demonstrates very clearly the idiocy of privatising our Fire and Rescue Services and we hope that the politicians and principal managers concerned will finally start to learn some of the lessons from the mistakes already made.
Best wishes.
Yours fraternally
MATT WRACK
GENERAL SECRETARY
MW/sll
