North Yorkshire summit points to new emergency services collaborations

Organised by Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, the Emergency Services Collaboration Summit offered the chance for the services to discuss opportunities for greater collaboration in North Yorkshire in light of the Government’s Police and Crime Bill, which is currently going through the House of Lords.

The summit was held at Fountains Abbey, where representatives from the Police, Fire and Emergency Services came together to discuss increased collaboration in North Yorkshire together with the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service, Brandon Lewis MP.

Mr Smith opened the event before handing over to the Minister, who spoke about the Government’s vision for improving the emergency services and took questions from the audience on a wide range of issues.

This was followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Julian Smith MP and formed of representatives from Police, Fire and Ambulance: Deputy Chief Constable Tim Madgwick from North Yorkshire Police; Assistant Chief Fire Officer Owen Hayward from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service; Amanda Bloor, Chief Officer of Harrogate and Rural District CCG; and Rod Barnes, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Julian Smith MP said: "It was good to see everyone engaging in such constructive dialogue on this vital issue – the future of our fantastic emergency services.

"The event was a great opportunity to hear from the three services as well as the Minister and provided some very useful insight."

The panel discussed current collaboration examples, future opportunities and the challenges to increased collaboration.

Following this, the panel fielded questions from the audience.

The event drew to a close with Angus Fire Ltd, a company based in Bentham, putting on a display of their new firefighting technology.