Fire service share of Staffordshire council tax to go up by 1.99 per cent

The 1.99 per cent increase in the precept means Band D households will pay an extra £1.57 a year – around 3p a week –  towards Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, bringing the bill up to £80.35 in 2022/23. This charge is part of the annual council tax bill, which also includes a contribution towards Staffordshire Police services.

At the end of January, a 4.19 per cent increase in the police precept was backed by Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel.

On Monday, Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Ben Adams returned to the panel to present the fire revenue budget, medium term financial strategy (MTFS) and precept proposals.

He said: “The work that fire and rescue services do has changed significantly in recent decades. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service provide a broad range of services to keep people safe at home, at work and in public places.

“The number and types of incidents attended have also changed and whilst there had been a downward trend for many years, the service has seen an increase in blue-light response over the last three years.

“Some of that demand is more complex than before; climate change has led to more extreme weather events, leading to flooding and large-scale fires in open areas that have required protracted, resource-intensive responses.

“Due to careful financial planning and central government support, Staffordshire Fire has not seen an impact on its core funding due to Covid-19, but the financial impact of the pandemic on public services, business and taxpayers, will be felt for years to come. I am acutely aware that household budgets are tight, so I expect every pound of taxpayer’s money invested in fire and rescue to be spent wisely and for Staffordshire Fire to continually seek efficiencies.

“To balance this MTFS, without using reserves, a further £2m of additional savings will be required by 2026. This will be challenging but given a good record of making savings, smarter use of technology, more efficient crewing models and to share more buildings and back-office costs with Staffordshire Police, I believe this is achievable.”

As part of spending plans for the next two years, £1.2m is set to be taken from reserves to help fund a vehicle replacement programme, while a further £900,000 is earmarked towards fire station refurbishment work at Abbots Bromley and Brewood.

Finance director David Greensmith told the panel that current facilities at Abbots Bromley were not suitable for female firefighters but it was hoped an improvement project would start soon. He added that the Brewood station was now “quite old” and needed some minor refurbishment work.

Stafford’s Beaconside base is also in line for changes.

Mr Greensmith said: “The Stafford Fire Station project remains within the programme. What that will see is a smaller fire station on the existing estate within the current annexe building where we have the occupational health service and we did have the civil contingencies unit.

“The proposal is to remodel that smaller area into a response base, with disposal of the current fire station which will result in more efficient revenue costs and will release a capital receipt on disposal of that land.”