JULIA Mulligan, elected Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, will also take on the governance of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Home Secretary has announced today.

This decision means that Ms Mulligan and North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service can now start preparation work in earnest for the formal transfer of governance, planned for this autumn.

Ms Mulligan said her local business case, which was submitted to the Home Office in September, sets out at least £6.6m of savings, proposals for streamlining senior management, collaboration on back office support services and sharing buildings between the two services.