Report of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer

The Fire Authority considered the report of the Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) which briefed Members on current draft savings proposals designed to address the funding gap identified in the Medium Term Financial Plan for 2023/24.  This was the first report to the Authority and was the result of an urgent review of all budget areas that had been conducted to identify savings opportunities.  Members were not being asked to make any decision at this stage, but a refreshed list of draft proposals would be included in the budget papers that would be presented to them for decision at the Fire Authority meeting on 9 February 2023.  

The Assistant Director Resources/Treasurer (ADR/T) informed Members that, in line with the report to the September Fire Authority meeting, the Service continued to forecast a reasonable worst case scenario of a budget gap of £3million, acknowledging we would not know the actual figure until the local government funding settlement had been announced in late December.  The Service had undertaken a thorough review of departmental budgets through the Annual Star Chamber process.  There had been no mention of Fire at all within the Government’s Autumn Statement.  It appeared that the general level Council Tax that could be set had been increased to 3%, this equated to approximately £300,000 additional income which was of course helpful but would not be sufficient.  The possibility of a £5 increase for all Fire Authorities was still being discussed.  The Finance Team were assessing the impact of inflation on the Service, utilities were procured through a Crown Commercial contract and so far, had added £350,000 to costs.  The national revaluation of Business Rates burden had added £100,000 to costs.  There would be no funding certainty until the Settlement was announced on a provisional basis in late December, however it was expected thatthis would only be for one year again, Finance Officers had modelled this as cash + 2% but there was some suggestion that this may be higher.  Even if the settlement improved and the £5 Council Tax flexibility was approved, there was still the risk of a gap in the finances.  The Chairman reminded the meeting that, as requested by the Fire Authority, there had been intensive lobbying of MPs and Ministers with regards to Council Tax flexibility.

A lengthy discussion followed.  Members queried whether the salary shortfall noted in the report was based on the 5% offer that had been rejected.  The ADR/T explained that a 2% increase had been modelled for each year, the figures in the report considered the £1925 flat rate offer that had been accepted by Green Book staff and the rejected 5% offer, if the increase was greater then the £3million funding gap would also increase.  Members also asked whether the in year overspend/underspend had been included.  The ADR/T confirmed that it had.  The in year overspends were mainly due to the Wholetime firefighter numbers being over establishment and training costs.  This was partly due to anticipated retirements not being as high as expected due to the national issues surrounding Firefighter Pensions remedy.  There was work underway to manage down the overspends relating to training and on the wider training provision model.

Regarding the impact of the increased cost of utilities, Members asked whether the worst case scenario could in fact be even worse.  The ADR/T explained that the Service currently brought services in a “6 month basket” but was looking to move to a “12 month Basket” to provide more security against the price fluctuations, but there were no guarantees.

Members asked what the impact of Industrial Action would be on the Budget.  The impact of Industrial Action was unclear, it would depend entirely on the type and length of action that was taken.  The spend would potentially be balanced by pay not being made during strikes, following the last strike it took two years to balance out the training costs.  There was also a potential impact on pensions costs, those who went out on strike would lose their pension contributions and some may not have the means to buyback their contributions and the decision about employer contributions is at the discretion of each employer. 

The Fire Authority agreed that there is a need to model the budget around both a 3% and £5 Council Tax increase option. 

Councillor Maples proposed and Councillor Evans seconded the proposal that the meeting move into confidential session to discuss the Confidential Appendix to this report.  The Fire Authority agreed to this proposal.

RESOLVED – The Fire Authority agreed to:

      i.        further development of the savings proposals;

     ii.        a suite of developed savings options being returned to the Fire Authority at its meeting on 9 February 2023 for approval as part of the final budget proposals for 2023/24; and

    iii.        that the proposals in (ii) should identify where formal public consultation was required.