Meeting documents

To consider Item 10

The Lead Member for Finance, IT and Procurement advised Members that this was a response to the 2018-19 Local Government Finance Settlement Consultation. Within the Consultation there were a series of questions that the Authority had put draft answers to. Subsequently, the Authority had received some advice from the Home Office about how to phrase this and what sort of information to include.

The Lead Member for Finance, IT and Procurement would like to modify the recommendation to take into account this advice and any views of Members and leave it to the Chief Fire Officer and Lead Member for Finance, IT and Procurement to write the final submission to the consultation.

The Deputy Director of Finance and Assets also advised Members that Question 10 "do you have any views on whether additional flexibilities were required for particular categories of authority? What evidence was available to support this specific flexibility" was a new question brought in this year after pressure from the Home Office as fire and rescue authorities do have some additional pressures and need some flexibility. This was the Authority’s opportunity to say what it would do with the extra funding.

Members asked what the Authority would be recommending to do if it got the flexibility to increase council tax.

The Chief Fire Officer advised Members that it would depend on the degree of flexibility. If Members looked at the Grenfell fire, the outcome from it would be increased regulation or some form of burden placed on fire and rescue services. There was also a recruitment and retention crisis for on call firefighters. The organisation was currently staffed under establishment but made it up with the bank shift system. It could not do that without the flexibility of its staff, but there was a definite need to add more resilience. If the Authority had the flexibility it would be looking to put more people back in the system. Also, with increased population, the calls could start to rise and there was undeniably a need for more community safety activity within the community.

The Chief Fire Officer advised Members that if the Authority were to pick up a pay agreement agreed nationally above 1% it would place an additional burden on the Authority. The service was stretched and any additional burdens, without increased funding, would mean some very difficult decisions relating to fire engines and fire stations, moving forward.

The Chief Fire Officer advised Members that in terms of the current national picture regarding this submission, every fire authority and the Association of Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities, would be putting in a submission asking for precept flexibility. The Combined Fire Authorities had agreed to do individual responses as well as a group response in terms of supporting precept flexibility. The Fire Brigades Union and the National Fire Chiefs Council would also support the flexibility. The only two who were not in agreement were Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and London Fire Brigade.

A Member asked where the £10 came from and was the Authority asking this for one year or ever year and would it be better not to just ask to end capping.

The Director of Finance and Assets advised that the Authority had asked for precept flexibility for one year. This was partially in response to the NJC pay offer during the summer. It was clear that if the public sector pay cap was to be breached or removed, whilst £5 would be sustainable in the short term, a £10 increase would allow sustainability for the medium–long term and allow further investment into the service in other areas.

It being proposed by Councillor McDonald and seconded by Councillor Carroll:

RESOLVED –

That the proposed response to the consultation be approved subject to amendments being finalised by the Chief Fire Officer in consultation with the Lead Member.