Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is proposing to take over control of the county’s fire service.

The change would see David Lloyd take on responsibility for setting budgets and priorities, as well as ensuring things are run efficiently.

Currently the county council manages the service, but Mr Lloyd said the proposal would bring benefits to both services and public safety.

He said: “I believe it makes sense for the fire and police service to work more closely together..

“Having joint governance improves efficiency, provides exciting opportunities for collaborating and making the best use of our existing resources.

“It’s important to remember this will not affect the operational control of either Hertfordshire Constabulary or Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

“There will still be a Constable and a Chief Fire Officer – the services will remain distinct.

“By bringing the strategy and governance closer, it will speed up the pace of better collaboration between all our emergency services, which is great news for the public.”

Mr Lloyd said that the police and fire service’s budgets would remain separate, and also claimed removing the service from the county council would protect its budget from potentially being diverted into other non-fire related services.

An eight-week consultation will run from today to August 14, before a final decision is submitted to the Home Secretary for approval by the end of the year.