Sadiq Khan responds to London Assembly’s concerns about Fire Brigade
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00:00I've not read the report yet. What I do know is that the AFB is the country's first fire and rescue service with a professional standards unit. Nobody else has one. I also know that under the leadership of Andy Rowe, the fire brigade has transformed in terms of the culture. But also there are problems in terms of firefighters who shouldn't be in the fire service. And that's one of the reasons why the PSU was set up. I think if the commissioner was here, he himself would say, it's not perfect, it's not the finished product.
00:27And we'll read carefully the report from the Assembly. We'll clearly spend time looking into this. We'll make sure we respond accordingly.
00:33I would say this to those thinking about becoming a firefighter. It's a great profession. The fire service unit has changed hugely since before.
00:43And so I'm sure the Assembly will also find good things in terms of the progress we've made. And that's recognised by His Majesty's Inspector in terms of their conclusions just a few months ago.
00:53And you don't feel then that given the understandable focus on the problems in the Met Police, the issues in the fire brigade, that's not something you've got the ball on?
01:03In terms of, sorry?
01:04In terms of managing the cultural issues in the fire brigade, you feel...
01:08Oh, listen, I think with the fire service in London and the police service in London, we're light years ahead of us as a country.
01:13Both the fire brigade and the police service are quite clear in, say, the importance of transparency.
01:19I'm the guy that highlighted the challenges in the police service, highlighted the challenges in the fire service because it's really important.
01:27We have public sectors that don't just look like our city but serve our city.
01:31And I suspect there are fire services and police services across the country looking at envy at the progress we've made.
01:36The fire service and the police service are perfect, but I'm incredibly proud of the transformation we've had.