Two-day judicial review hearing to begin

Shropshire Fire Authority’s fight to block the police commissioner’s takeover of the brigade will reach the High Court tomorrow.

Last year, then Home Secretary Amber Rudd approved West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion’s proposal to assume governance of the county’s fire service.

The Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority launched a judicial review, questioning the way the decision was made.

The case, between the Authority and the Home Secretary, is listed for the Royal Courts of Justice at 10.30am on Wednesday, June 5, and is expected to last two days.

By giving the go-ahead to the takeover, Ms Rudd was implicitly agreeing the move was “in the interests of economy, efficiency and effectiveness” – the tests set out by law.
At a previous meeting of the Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority, authority clerk Jonathan Eatough explained to members that their lawyers had initially asked for a judicial review on four grounds. Two of these were allowed to proceed.

The first argument is that “the interests of economy, efficiency and effectiveness” should have been considered individually but the Home Secretary merely considered them together and on balance.
The second argument is the authority’s claim that the Home Secretary did not properly obtain an independent assessment of the effect the transfer might have on public safety.

A spokesman for the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office said they did not expect judgment to be given immediately, but believed a written adjudication would be handed down several days after the hearing.