Graham Carpenter of Oldfields Close, Leominster, asks why so much expense for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue authority admin (From Hereford Times)

Graham Carpenter of Oldfields Close, Leominster, asks why so much expense for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue authority admin

8:00am Thursday 9th August 2012 in Letters

I READ with interest and incredulity, the publication of the members’ allowances paid to the 28 people on Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority in the year 2011/12 (Hereford Times, July 19).

The authority website states that it normally comprises 25 members, which leads me to ask why so many people have to determine the budget, plans, policies, strategies and running of the fire and rescue service, and what skills they have as individuals with regard to these matters.

If the authority is merely rubber stamping proposals put forward by the experts – that is, fire brigade staff – it seems excessive for 25 people to receive in excess of £53,000 in expenses to oversee the exercise, and for two members of the authority to claim in excess of £8,000 for a body that only meets on four occasions a year with an annual meeting in June.

I am sure it would be of interest to many people in the two counties, if the authority and the chief fire officer would explain in detail just what the authority does for our money.

I do not for one minute question the cost of providing a fire and rescue service, but such high sums of money spent on administration need to be justified to the taxpaying public, and not just reported as a matter of fact.

GRAHAM CARPENTER, Oldfields Close, Leominster.