Hereford & Worcester Fire Authority (HWFA) learned on Monday, July 29th that it has not succeeded in persuading the High Court to overturn the Home Office’s decision to approve the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), John Campion’s, business case to take over the governance of the Fire and Rescue Services in Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire.

 The decision followed a judicial review after both HWFA and Shropshire & Wrekin Fire Authority challenged the Home Secretary’s decision to change the governance of both Services, from two Authorities comprising councillors of the four local authority areas, to the PCC.

 HWFA Chairman, Councillor Roger Phillips, said: “The Judge decided not to grant our application for judicial review even though he agreed with our argument that the Home Secretary had applied the wrong test when considering the PCC’s business case. In light of this and having considered legal advice, we believe there are grounds to challenge the Court’s decision and will therefore be applying for leave to appeal."See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here