Butt condemns fire service cuts that will cause preventable deaths

Muhammed Butt's office has sent me the following statement. Please note that the 8 fatalities in Brent last year included the mother and five children who died in the Neasden house fire. Reports at the time said that the fire service was alerted at 00.50 and were fighting the fire 'around' 01.00 and it was under control by 02.50.   Firefighters from Willesden, West Hampstead, North Kensington and Park Royal fire stations attended.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, has spoken out angrily today against Coalition cuts to fire services in Brent. Cllr Butt’s comments came as it was revealed that the fire service missed its own target of attending the scene of a fire within 6 minutes in 41% of callouts in Brent. Cllr Butt is extremely concerned  that Brent had by far the highest number of fire fatalities in London during 2011/12.

Of 2,384 fire service callouts since January 2012, 988 (or 41%) missed the fire service’s own 6 minute response time target. David Cameron has said that the key issue for the fire service is how long it takes to attend an incident.

In 2011/12 there were 8 fire fatalities in Brent, by far the highest of any London Borough. The next highest was Southwark with 5 fatalities, and most the London Boroughs had only 1. During the same period there were a total of 47 fatalities across London.

Cllr Butt, Leader of Brent Council said,

“I have huge respect for our fire men and women and the extremely difficult job they do, and these cuts to fire services are an absolute disgrace. Cameron, Teather, Boris and co are acting with complete disregard for the lives of Brent residents. 

“They must scrap their plans to cut fire services in Brent even further immediately. Sarah Teather must stand firmly on the side of her residents against her Government on this issue. How can they give money to millionaires while their cuts are causing preventable deaths in our poorest communities?”

Barry Gardiner, Member of Parliament for Brent North said:

“The Mayor may have the power to do this but he has no right to put the lives of my constituents at risk in this way.”

"Police! Fire!! Ambulance!" - not in Willesden...

 Muhammed Butt's office has released the following press statement:

Brent Council Leader Muhammed Butt has urged the government to reconsider its plans to close Willesden Police Station as part of a dramatic programme of cuts as Cllr Butt has grave concerns that this will endanger thousands of residents.

The station, which is one of only four in the borough, will be sold off as part of the government’s 12% cut to The Metropolitan Police, which has already seen 1,777 police officers and 1,800 PCSOs lost across the capital in the past two years.

The news of the station closure was announced despite figures that show that burglaries in the borough have already increased by almost 15% since the beginning of this year despite a reported average fall across the capital.

Metropolitan Police figures also reveal that over the last 12 months, there has been more than double the number of crimes in Brent than in the neighbouring borough of Harrow. 

Cllr Butt criticised the government’s reckless approach to cutting the emergency services back too far and too fast, noting that the announcement about the police station closure comes less than a week after leaked documents revealed that two of the three fire stations in the borough could face closure as result of a severe 25% budget cut to fire services.

This is in addition to the swiftly announced plans in 2010 to close a quarter of London’s 24 A&Es, forcing each of those remaining to cater for an average of 120,000 extra residents with little time to plan how to implement the changes without endangering lives.

Cllr Butt said, ‘Thousands of people requiring the vital help of the emergency services are having their safety compromised and lives endangered. The closure of Willesden Police Station, one of the busiest in the capital, will have devastating consequences for a community that still suffers from high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour. The fact that Sarah Teather and Nick Clegg are supporting this is a disgrace. Brent residents deserve to have their local MP on their side.’

Brent North MP Barry Gardiner said, ‘This is just one more example of the strain this government is placing on local services. Police numbers have declined and our Neighbourhood teams in Brent have lost 60 officers and PCSOs. Our police do a great job. We should be supporting them not cutting off all support.’

Navin Shah, Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, said: “We’re seeing the unacceptable and dangerous face of deep cuts. The Mayor has tried to duck and dive when questioned directly about cuts to the NHS but he has direct responsibility for the fire and police services so has to take responsibility for the closure of fire and police stations.’