Fire plans will cost £1 billion

The government's plans to close all 46 emergency fire control rooms and replace them with nine regional centres is likely to cost over £1 billion, according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

The union has been scrutinising the plans, which are currently out for consultation. It has examined official reports of major government department projects including the Inland Revenue tax credit system, Passport Office modernisation, Operation Telic (the UK's military operation in Iraq) and 13 other examples.

The FBU found that, for IT projects, costs on average exceed original estimates by 43%. Based on the current estimate of £754 million for the new fire control rooms the eventual cost could easily exceed £1 billion, it says.

In an earlier report, Out of control, the union had responded to the regional control centres idea, saying that "not a single life will be saved...and not one single improvement to the safety of the community and firefighters will result."

The government has asked regional fire authorities to endorse the proposals, but those in the East of England and South West have declined to do so.

* Firefighters at Glasgow Airport, members of the T&G union, were taking indefinite strike action from 29 January over the decision of airport operator BAA to remove the fire-fighting service in the "land side" areas of the airport. It means that fires in the terminals and other land side areas of the airport would become the responsibility of the local authority firefighters.