Agenda item

“It is recommended that:

(a) the report and Statement of the Chief Finance Officer (see section 8 of Annex A) be noted.

(b) a Council Tax precept of £77.16 for a band D equivalent property (equal to an increase of 10p per week) and the revenue budget as set out in Appendix 1 be approved.

(c) the capital programme as set out in Appendix 2 be approved.”

The report considered by the Executive Committee is attached at item 9(b)

The Lead Member for Finance and Assets, Information Security and IT introduced the report and informed Members that a lot of work had gone into this budget. It was a budget that set out the Chairman’s strategic vision for transformation of the Service moving forward and safeguarding the plans for 300 wholetime firefighters. The financial position was better than it was, but there was still a huge amount of risk around utilities and pay.

The Deputy Director of Finance and Assets advised Members that the revised appendices presented the revenue and capital Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for the financial years 2023/24 to 2027/28.  It had been a challenging year with inflation reaching double figures and having a significant impact on the expenditure budgets.

There had been a significant change in the Council tax precept flexibility for Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs).  The referendum threshold had increased from 2% to 3% throughout the MTFP.  Furthermore, the government proposed additional precept flexibility for FRAs to increase their precept by up to £5 for 2023/24 only, without the need to hold a referendum. This additional flexibility was welcomed and reflected in the MTFP.

The council tax collection fund base had been improving since the start of the pandemic where it had been adversely impacted, and the tax base had reduced.  Last year the Authority saw the council tax base increase by 2.19% and there had been another year of continued growth averaging at over 2%.

The Revenue Support grant had increased in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Authority had been informed that the Service’s grant had reduced from the previous year by circa £150k but the Authority would still receive in the region of £200k.

The Deputy Director of Finance and Assets informed Members that there had been some negatives. The Firelink grant would reduce by 20% and no more grant would be received from 2024/25 onwards. The Service was verbally notified in January 2023 that the grant funding for the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capability hosted at Aylesbury would end on 31 March 2024.  This would reduce the amount of fire specific grant funding from 2024/25 onward by a further £817k per annum, meaning the Service would no longer receive any fire specific grant funding from 2026/27 onwards. 

The Deputy Director of Finance and Assets advised Members that since the report was presented to the Executive Committee on 8 February 2023, there had been two significant events that had required the appendices to be updated further. On 8 February 2023, the National Employers agreed to make a revised pay offer of  7% increase on all basic pay rates and Continual Professional Development payments (with effect from 1 July 2022) and a 5% increase (with effect from 1 July 2023). 

Although the offer was still subject to agreement, pay inflation assumptions for those two years had been updated to reflect this latest offer.  Future year planning assumptions for pay awards have been revised upwards to 4% per year.

The Service had been able to agree and award a 12-month fixed price contract for both gas and electricity, which due to movements in wholesale prices during the period in which the budget has been developed, would cost significantly less than initial projections.  Therefore, the utilities budget throughout the MTFP had been reduced by £500k per annum.  It should be noted that the overall increase in utilities prices would still cost the Service circa £500k more per year than during 2021-22.

A Member raised a question about the reduction of the Firelink grant and potential loss of USAR, which equated to almost a £1m cut in funding which was a significant amount coming out of the budget. Also, the impact on the Service, especially losing USAR which not only benefited the residents of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, but also residents across the country. Was the Authority making enough fuss to the government.

The Chairman advised Members that the Authority had not yet received formal notification that the USAR grant was being removed. The Chairman and Chief Fire Officer had been focussed on influencing government. There had been a lot of support from the local MPs. Rob Butler MP had visited USAR and seen the team in operation, as mentioned in the Chairman’s Announcements. There had also been correspondence between Rob Butler MP and the Fire Minister, and both the Chairman and Chief Fire Officer had conversations with the Fire Minister and the National Fire Chiefs Council regarding USAR. It was important that this Service retained USAR and this was what was being conveyed to the Home Office.

The Chief Fire Officer gave his thanks to the USAR team who continued to provide a fantastic service with this hanging over them. Every time they were mobilised, locally or nationally, the feedback was excellent.

A Member asked if a risk assessment had been undertaken if the Service was to lose the USAR capability.

The Chief Fire Officer advised Members that so far, there had been no correspondence from the Home Office to indicate that the Authority would be losing the USAR team, there had only been an informal meeting with the National Fire Chiefs Council who had identified that this Service was one of the teams at risk. The Chief Fire Officer had not yet seen the risk assessment from the Home Office or how the decision was being made, or what was being taken into account. In terms of the risk position, this would need to be encompassed into the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP). This Service needed a heavy rescue facility, and other fire and rescue services within the Thames Valley, based their response models on this Service’s USAR team being available in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The next two nearest teams were West Midlands and Essex.

The Director of Finance and Assets advised Members that as the Chief Finance Officer, he was required to report on the assumptions made and the adequacy of financial reserves. His assessment that the reserves were adequate and sustainable was based on Members approving the recommendation to increase the council tax by £5. Should that not be the case, his professional opinion was that the reserves were not sustainable.

RESOLVED –

1.                  That the report and Statement of the Chief Finance Officer (see section 8 of Annex A) be noted.

2.                  That a Council Tax precept of £77.16 for a band D equivalent property (equal to an increase of 10p per week) and the revenue budget as set out in Appendix 1 be approved.

3.                  That the capital programme as set out in Appendix 2 be approved.

Details of the recorded vote for resolutions 1-3 above are set out below: