On Friday 28
December 2007 the Bristol Evening Post printed a story on the
funding of the ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality in
the Fire Service – an Absolute Taboo?’ conference hosted by Avon
Fire & Rescue Service in October 2007.
The Chair of Avon
Fire Authority (AFA), Councillor Terry Walker, has since
written the following letter to the Editor in response.
Dear Editor
Ref '£30,000
cost of 'gay slur' conference'.
I am writing in
response to your front page headline of Friday December 28 2007.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) should be praised, not
criticised for taking the lead in raising understanding
of these issues (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
issues in the workplace).
As a member of
Avon Fire Authority (AFA), I am astonished that Councillor Murphy
seems unaware of his responsibilities as an employer. Not only do
we have a statutory duty to promote equality, we also have a moral
responsibility to tackle and eradicate all forms of prejudice.
It is a disgrace
that Cllr Murphy questions ‘What has this got to do with the fire
service?’ as it publicly demonstrates his ignorance of the
legislation he has a responsibility to comply with as an employer
and must raise questions as to his suitability to hold office.
In my view
discrimination has fear and ignorance at its heart, and it is right
and proper that we do all that we can to raise awareness and
improve understanding of people’s difference, in whatever form that
may be.
As the Chair of
AFA I was proud to host the LGBT Conference and I was equally proud
of the true leadership shown by the Chief Fire Officer and others
who put the programme together.
In all my years of
association with the fire service, I have never been to a
conference that was so well attended, with virtually every fire and
rescue service in the UK sending delegates. From my perspective
that demonstrates how important and serious such issues are for the
modern fire and rescue service.
It is a shame the
Cllr Murphy chose not to attend, as he would have been enlightened
to hear the views of speakers and delegates.
The responses we
had included: Charlie Hendry, Vice President, Chief Fire
Officers' Association said: "AF&RS has taken a bold step in
championing this issue at a national level which, I am sure, has
given all attending the conference added impetus to push forward
and make the changes required to enable Fire Services to be better
organisations."
Pat Carberry, The
Fire Brigades Union National Gay and Lesbian Committee said:
"AF&RS has risen the challenge by being the first fire service
to host such a conference and therefore the honours for taking the
necessary progressive step must go to your authority and all the
staff who worked so hard to make the event the success it was.
"I wish to remind
you of the enormous contribution that your fire authority has made
by hosting this conference. If you are not sure as to the
significance of what you have achieved allow me to state a personal
observation based on my own experiences.
"It is a total
tragedy to lose a firefighter whilst they are engaged in the
emergency services they provide, it is a total disgrace when
firefighters take their own lives as a result of how their
colleagues treat them. The consequences of ignoring this
issue have allowed this to happen and now hopefully we shall see an
end to such instances."
As for the cost,
the benefit gained by all fire and rescue service staff far
outweighed the £2,000 we spent.
Regards
Councillor Terry
Walker
Chair of Avon Fire
Authority.