A PUBLIC consultation concerning the future of north Wales’ fire service has been announced.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority is encouraging people to get involved in helping to plan how fire and rescue services should be developed in the region over the next few years.

As in previous years, the authority has drafted some improvement objectives that it will be trying to achieve from April 2017 onwards, but before it formally adopts those objectives it is inviting people to submit their views for consideration.

With money for running public services in short supply the authority suggests it faces “increasingly difficult” decisions about the services it provides now and in future.

A fire service spokesperson said: “The authority has an excellent record of managing its money and has continued to deliver prevention, protection and response services to high standards despite significant cost-cutting.

It has also been demonstrating that prevention really is better than cure – far fewer people suffer from fires in north Wales these days precisely because of the authority’s commitment to educating and supporting people to keep themselves safe.

“However, that success is not enough.

“By law the authority must keep trying to improve its services in the short term as well as considering the wellbeing of future generations of people in north Wales. Moreover, it has to consider the costs involved – there would be little point in planning a service that is going to be unaffordable.

“As an authority for the whole of north Wales its concern is for the whole area and the whole population. This is an important consultation – it is necessary for the public to engage.”

Cllr Meirick Lloyd Davies, chair of the Fire and Rescue Authority, said: “We all understand that there is less money for public services to use than we would like, but accept that the situation is unlikely to improve for a number of years.

“The more people who get involved, the better our prospects of achieving the right balance of services are and the more confident we can be that detailed action plans will deliver what the people want.”

Visit www.nwales-fireservice.org.uk for more details – a consultation questionnaire will open next week.

Responses must be forwarded by the deadline on 12 December.