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 GOVERNMENT funding for fire and rescue services over the next three years will be ‘extremely tough’ for brigades, says the Chief Fire Officers’ Association(CFOA).
Under the provisional fire service grant settlement, announced by Communities and Local Government in December 2007, some 58% of fire authorities in England will receive grant increases below inflation. According to CFOA, this means that authorities will face challenging times ahead and have difficult choices about council tax levels and levering out cash efficiencies from their organisations.
Given the scale of savings required by government and the fact that around 80% of fire authority spending is on people, CFOA argues that the fire service will have to reduce its head count at a national level. This is based on an expectation that pay rises are in line with inflation – if pay increases exceed inflation, then this will increase the pressure for savings yet further.
CFOA president Steve McGuirk said: ‘Of particular concern is the lack of clarity around funding for the extra resources required to cope with terrorist threats. The grant for this financial year has not yet been announced and the grant settlement is unclear on what is available for future years. I urge the government to announce the full continuation of that support urgently so that the ability of fire authorities to deal with major incidents is not compromised.’
Mr McGuirk also said that he looked forward to the funding arrangements relating to the new network of regional control centres in England ‘becoming clearer over the next few months’.
He added that CFOA expected the government to shortly announce the continuation of funding for smoke alarms and community safety initiatives to support the downward trend in fire deaths.
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