Cambridgeshire’s chief fire officer warns of redundancies and station closures unless fire and rescue service funding changes

A stark warning has been issued by Cambridgeshire’s chief fire officer that there will have to be cuts made to the county’s fire and rescue service unless there are changes to the way in which it is funded.

Chris Strickland warned that the service faces a budget deficit of at least £1.1million at the start of April 2023, which could lead to redundancies or fire station closures unless the government relaxes its rules on how much can be raised from council tax.

It follows national negotiations with the Fire Brigades Union that led to an agreement for a five per cent cost of living pay award for firefighters, with support staff also due to get a rise.

Mr Strickland said: “We very much want our employees to be given a pay increase that reflects the current rate of inflation, but we also have a responsibility to deliver a balanced budget and these are currently at odds.

“We had budgeted for a two per cent increase but we now know it will be a minimum of five per cent, so we are likely to have to scale down the service we provide unless our funding situation significantly improves.

“We are an incredibly lean fire service having made ongoing efficiency savings over the last 12 years equating to £8m, whilst at the same time continuing to improve the service we deliver to our communities.

“We simply cannot absorb further budget pressures without negatively impacting on our frontline service. We have reached a position where without additional funding we will be looking at closing at least three on-call fire stations and making a number of our vital professional support staff redundant.”

He warned: “As much as I want our employees to get the cost of living increase in pay they deserve, I don’t want to have to make anyone redundant or close any fire stations to do so. But, as things stand, we have little choice. The only glimmer of hope will be if the government allows us flexibility in how much council tax we can ask for in future years.”

Fire and rescue services are currently limited to asking for a maximum of two per cent increase in their portion of council tax, which equates to an additional £1.50 per year for a Band D taxpayer in Cambridgeshire.

Mr Strickland wants the government to allow a higher increase - the equivalence of around £10 per year for the typical taxpayer - to provide additional income and lessen the service reductions required.

He said: “We’ve told our staff about the situation and explained that we will need to plan for the worst whilst keeping everything crossed that the situation changes and we can continue to maintain the great level of service we provide to our communities.

“We are nationally recognised as a cost effective and good fire and rescue service that is efficient, effective and looks after its people well. So it is demoralising to sit and make plans for service reductions knowing it will have a detrimental impact on the service we have built up over the years and are proud of. But without a change to our funding arrangements, we will have little choice.”

But Mark Harriss, FBU brigade secretary for Cambridgeshire, told the Cambridge Independent: “We are clear that it is not an either or situation when it comes to firefighters’ pay and decent fire and rescue provision. Any attempt to paint it as such is entirely wrong. We need a properly funded fire and rescue service and that involves fairly paid professional firefighters and enough resources. We will continue to fight for both. Central government and our local government authorities are responsible for funding. They are responsible for any deficiencies in fire and rescue cover.

“We welcome the chief’s recognition that the fire and rescue service needs investment to stabilise the decade long reduction in funding from central government, which has come after years of avoidance, but would question his view that they have improved services. Since 2010, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has seen a twenty per cent reduction in the operational workforce, an increase in attendance times and during the recent seasonal summer fires we witnessed tired firefighters being brought in to relieve exhausted firefighters.

“After 12 years of wage repression firefighters have fallen far behind in pay and multi-skilled professionals are being forced to use foodbanks. That is surely unacceptable for anyone. The latest offer from employers of five per cent doesn't go anywhere near what firefighters have lost out on since 2010 and doesn't do nearly enough to deal with the spiralling cost of living today.”

Fire authority chair Cllr Edna Murphy (Lib Dem, Bar Hill) - in a statement supported by vice chair Cllr Mohammed Jamil (Lab, Peterborough Central) - said: “We have been put in this invidious position by the economic situation and ultimately by a failure over the years to provide a fair funding mechanism for Cambridgeshire. I call on the government to provide us with the assurance we need that we will receive flexibility for next year’s budget, which would give us some mitigation.

“This year’s increase in fires, as a result of the prolonged hot, dry weather, has shown us that we will need the fire service more in the future, not less. Reducing the service’s ability to meet existing, never mind new, challenges feels all wrong, but we do not have any other choice in the circumstances.”

The service is due to confirm its budget for 2023-24 in December, by which time it expects to know if there will be any change to council tax rules.