PLANS have been unveiled detailing how West Yorkshire’s three main emergency services can work more closely together to improve their “efficiency and effectiveness".

The leaders of West Yorkshire Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS), and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) have held an inaugural meeting of the Tri-Service Collaboration Board.

The new group has been established in response to proposed new statutory requirements under the Police and Crime Bill, expected to be enacted next year, for emergency services to demonstrate increased co-operation.

A report due to go before the executive committee of WYFRS on Monday states that the new board will provide “direction and ownership of an agreed collaboration agenda”.

Members have already begun to look at options including shared training, investigation work, and physical locations, such as police and fire staff using the same station.

The report states that the board will be asked to consider “progress towards budget savings created by collaboration on operational functions, shared services, and shared premises wherever possible”.

West Yorkshire Chief Fire Officer Simon Pilling said: “The Board’s purpose is to provide appropriate and effective governance and public reassurance that major collaboration projects between the emergency services receive the necessary assessment, scrutiny, and support from each organisation to ensure value for money and service delivery performance are delivered.

"Major projects such as co-location of premises, when opportunities arise to bring staff together under one roof, will be explored and when appropriate, will receive authorisation and resourcing to bring them to fruition.”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the aims of the board was to bring the three services together to “look at how we can work better together to deliver greater value for money, and importantly improve the services we provide to people across West Yorkshire”.

A YAS spokesman said: “We are committed to working in partnership with our emergency services colleagues to improve efficiency and effectiveness. We look forward to the opportunities the board will provide to develop and share best practice in joint blue-light working.”