RBH and Fire Service work together to protect vulnerable residents

Gareth Swarbrick and Paul Starling sign the information-sharing agreement

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) have signed a ground-breaking information-sharing agreement, allowing them to work more closely together to protect local residents.

By working together and sharing information effectively, GMFRS will be able to provide better and more tailored protection for RBH tenants, and vulnerable residents will be provided with additional support.

The information-sharing agreement was signed in December by RBH Chief Executive Gareth Swarbrick and GMFRS Borough Manager for Rochdale, Paul Starling.

The agreement has already brought benefits to an RBH tenant who was recently the victim of a house fire. As a result of the ability to share information, the tenant received additional support from RBH, GMFRS and other agencies, all of whom have assisted the tenant to make a speedy return to their refurbished home.

Gareth Swarbrick, RBH Chief Executive, said: “We already have an excellent working relationship with our partners at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and this agreement will build on that relationship to develop new and innovative ways of working that will deliver the very best in terms of fire safety for all of our tenants.”

“In order to ensure that those most in need of these services are identified, it is vital that both organisations are able to share this information while ensuring that the privacy and confidentiality of our tenants remains our over-riding priority.”

Paul Starling, GMFRS’ Rochdale Borough Manager, said: “It is vitally important that the most vulnerable people within the community can access our services and we, as responsible authorities, can be sure that the information we hold is accurate and secure.”

“By sharing information, we can ensure that all work with the individual is logged so we do not duplicate workloads and so tailor intervention activities to meet the family’s needs.”