The next phase of central government’s departure from managing fire and rescue services in England has been marked with the publication of a draft fire and rescue national framework.

The consultation seeks views on freeing fire and rescue authorities to tailor their services to meet local needs, while meeting the wider needs of national resilience.

Launching the consultation exercise, fire minister Bob Neill said:

"The draft national framework marks a key milestone to reset the relationship between fire and rescue authorities and central government.

"We know that fire and rescue authorities, not Whitehall, are best placed to decide what their communities need. Government must get out of their way and allow them to get on with their vital job of keeping our communities safe."

The government’s priorities in the draft national framework are for fire and rescue authorities to:

• Identify and assess the full range of fire and rescue related risks their area faces, make provision for prevention and protection activities, and respond to incidents appropriately
• Work in partnership with their communities and a wide range of partners locally and nationally to deliver their service and
• Be accountable to communities for the service they provide.

The consultation will close on 19 March 2012.