Draft London Safety Plan 2010/2013 - Fire Brigades Union London

through the GLA Group responsible procurement
programme.
Prioritise measures consistent with the commitment
to carbon reduction targets of 60 per cent by 2025
and promoting open spaces.
Supporting delivery of the London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games and its legacy.
Providing skills and employment opportunities both
through the direct workforce and through supply
chains, implementing the Living Wage for London,
and promoting equality in the workforce and across
London.
Our latest response to these priorities was set out in our
interim budget submission which was agreed by the
Authority on 17 September 2009.
THE MAYOR’S STRATEGIES
The Mayor has published the following strategies for
shaping London’s future:
The London Plan which sets out an integrated
economic, environmental, transport and social
framework for the development of the capital over
the next 20 to 25 years.
The Transport Strategy which sets out the Mayor’s
plans for London’s transport over the next 20 years;
and
The Economic Development Strategy which is the
Mayor’s broad vision to keep London an economic
success. It sets out his intentions to promote London
internationally, to keep our business environment
competitive and to give all Londoners the
opportunity to share in this success.
The Mayor has also published draft strategies for housing
in London, for water management and usage and for air
quality. As we must have regard to most of the Mayor’s
strategies, we have reviewed them and commented as
appropriate. For example, the Mayor’s draft Housing
Strategy is concerned with creating new homes through
construction and refurbishment but also aspires to build
and support sustainable and cohesive communities. We
share these aspirations and we have a range of
programmes, policies and activities which support these
objectives. Fire safety is not only the product of physical
fire safety measures, but also the result of community
safety and wider social cohesion work and we have set
this out in our Community Safety Strategy.
THE ECONOMIC CONTEXT
Covering the period from April 2010 to April 2013, our
plans are being made in the face of the current recession,
9
a marked deterioration in public finances, an anticipated
reduction in future government spending and at a time of
economic uncertainty over the medium term.
There are a number of ways in which we are supporting
Londoners through the recession. This includes our work
in fire safety regulation in reducing the burden of
regulation on London’s businesses, while maintaining safe
environments for Londoners and visitors. Our work in
developing integral fire safety solutions within buildings
and so reducing damage, also supports London’s
competitiveness and we are able to work with businesses
on their plans to ensure that they can get back up and
running in as short a time as possible after an incident.
Our recent successes in significantly reducing the amount
of time taken to deal with incidents involving acetylene
cylinders is an example of the sort of contribution we can
make to keeping London competitive, while ensuring
safety remains at the forefront of our objectives. We also
support new transport projects through integrated fire
safety engineering and this again enables us to contribute
to keeping London moving as well as safe.
Our work in local communities is helping to contribute to
social cohesion and a stable society. In terms of tackling
unemployment and low skills, our work with young
people in developing self esteem, life skills and teamwork
through some of our youth engagement programmes,
such as our LIFE project, are helping to support young
people in getting work. We will also be introducing an
apprenticeship scheme in the Brigade which will create
more opportunities for young Londoners.
There is a perception that arson increases during a
downturn in the economy .However, we have carried out
detailed analysis using 40 years’ worth of records and this
has concluded that there is no evidence to suggest a
causal link between fires and the economy. Nevertheless,
we carry out many proactive initiatives to reduce the fear
and risk of arson, including working in partnership with
local authorities to target potential arson targets.
LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD
Although this plan is for the next three years, we are
looking further ahead and considering what London
might look like in the future and what that might mean for
the services we provide. Using evidence provided from
London Collaborative 1 about a range of potential
scenarios (focusing on economic viability, climate change
and social cohesion) we will work with our staff to
consider how our role might be affected and prepare for
1 An organisation funded by Capital Ambition, London’s regional
improvement and efficiency partnership, which includes representatives
from a range of public and private sector organisations in London.