Former cabinet member for the fire service, County Councillor Jeremy Hilton has been re-elected as the party’s national local government spokesperson for the fire and rescue service. In a ballot of all Liberal Democrat councillors serving on councils in England & Wales, he was elected with 74.5% of the vote.

Cllr. Hilton (Kingsholm & Wotton) will serve as the lead member on the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Fire Services Management Committee (FSMC) for the next two years. The FSMC agrees new policy for the LGA on fire and rescue service matters.

As part of his remit, Jeremy is hoping to retain his place on the government’s Strategic Resilience Board, which oversees the fire service’s preparations for dealing with all types of major disasters if they were to occur in the future.

Jeremy Hilton said: “I am delighted to have been re-elected as the Liberal Democrats lead member at the LGA for the fire and rescue service. Very soon the LGA will have to respond to Sir Ken Knight’s report “Facing the Future”, which has looked at the operations and efficiencies of all 46 fire and rescues authorities in England. It will be my job to lead on the Liberal Democrat response to Sir Ken Knight’s suggestions.”

Cllr. Roger Price, from Hampshire will join Jeremy Hilton as his deputy on the LGA FSMC.

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