Bosses at Hertfordshire County Council are expecting a decision on the future of the fire service within days.

The Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is currently run by the county council.

But Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd believes bringing both emergency services under the same umbrella would cut costs, enable better joint working and improve public safety.

Last year Mr Lloyd applied to the Home Office to take over the fire and rescue service.

And recently he has been asked to submit further information, which has included proposals to close and to relocate some fire stations.

At a meeting of full council on Tuesday, executive member for community safety and waste management Cllr Terry Hone said the Home Office decision was expected to be made within days - before the council adjourned for the summer.

He said: “We are expecting a decision before recess – that’s what we are told. You could argue that could be this week.”

Updating councillors on progress, Cllr Hone said the county council had responded to the latest submission by the police and crime commissioner and had met with the organisation that was evaluating it for the Home Office.

Referring to the commissioner's proposals to close and relocate stations, Cllr Hone said that this could not be done without completion of the Integrated Risk Management Plan.

“We have to make this decision not on assets but on safety,” he told councillors.

He said the council had also questioned some of the estimates in the PCC’s submission that had been based on benchmark figures, that Cllr Hone said were “not compatible”.

The county council has opposed the proposals for the PCC to takeover the governance of the fire and rescue service, saying they are flawed financially, operationally and democratically.