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   ;)  Greater Manchester Fire And Rescue Authority – Councillor Paul Shannon re - elected Chairman
Manchester Councillor Paul Shannon (Liberal Democrat) was today re-elected Chairman of Greater Manchester's award-winning Fire and Rescue Authority. In leading the Authority, Councillor Shannon will be joined by Vice Chairman, Councillor John Bell of Tameside, and Deputy Chairman, Councillor Jack Walton of Bury, both from the Conservative party. Councillor Shannon paid tribute to the leadership of the outgoing Chairman Councillor James Pearson, who stood down at May's local elections, and the work of the previous Deputy Chair, Councillor Wendy Meikle. Councillor Shannon said: "Working together, we have this year delivered record low levels of deaths and injuries from fire in Greater Manchester, as well as setting our lowest-ever Council tax increase. But the future is even more challenging. The global financial crisis and public spending cuts bring change to all public services. We will have unavoidable decisions to make on our £117 million budget. With public spending cuts of 25% or more for unprotected services, Local Authorities and Fire Authorities will need to make difficult decisions. We constantly look to balance our emergency response and fire safety work, and make the best use of resources. " Councillor Paul Shannon is the Vice-Chairman of the Fire and Rescue Regional Management Board for the North-West, and also serves as Chairman of the Association of Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities. He said: "Greater Manchester's Fire and Rescue Authority is looking to intensify its collaboration with fellow regional and urban Fire Authorities. Everything possible must be done to drive down the cost of providing our services." Welcoming the Chairman of the Fire Authority, County Fire Officer Steve McGuirk acknowledged the challenges and opportunities that the Fire Authority will be facing, "We have always worked closely with our elected members and this strong relationship will be critical as, together, we strive to maintain and in some areas improve the service that we deliver to our communities." Other leadership appointments made at the AGM include Councillor Iain Lindley (Salford, Con) as Chair of HR, Councillor Derek Heffernan (Oldham, Lib Dem) in the Chair of Finance; and Councillor Paul Ankers (Manchester, Lib Dem) who continues as Chair of Equality and Diversity Photo: (left to right) Deputy Chairman Councillor Jack Walton, Chairman Councillor Shannon, County Fire Officer Steve McGuirk, Vice Chairman, Councillor John Bell Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
