East Sussex Fire Authority has set its budget for 2024/2025, including decisions over Council Tax and future options for delivering services within available resources.
At its meeting on Thursday 8 February 2024 it considered its Medium Term Financial Plan.
The Service’s budget is set at £49.992m for 2024/25, the vast majority of which is spent on staff, equipment and training, alongside maintaining our fire stations, other buildings and our vehicles.
It agreed to an increase of 2.99% (at Band D), the maximum allowed without a referendum. At Band D that is an increase of £3.12 a year or just 6 pence per week.
Fire Authority Chairman Roy Galley said:
“No-one on the Fire Authority takes the decision to raise Council Tax lightly. The fact remains we have limited options to balance our budget and protect local services in the face of inflation and other increasing costs, and Council Tax is our primary source of funding. Despite these pressures the Fire Authority remains totally committed to keeping our communities safe.”
Support will continue to be available through local Council Tax Support Schemes for those residents who are eligible.
Council Tax
The decision to increase Council Tax results in the following Council Tax bands:
- Band A £71.66
- Band B £83.60
- Band C £95.55
- Band D £107.49
- Band E £131.38
- Band F £155.26
- Band G £179.15
- Band H £214.98
Savings
The Service has completed a number of changes to deliver savings of £1.883m.
This includes the Future Foundations programme, which includes a review of our support services structure and related ways of working, and use of estate savings. Savings have also been delivered on utilities and changes in service delivery.
At its meeting the Fire Authority agreed not to change the delivery model in the East of the Service due to risk this will increase pressure on frontline capacity resulting in additional overtime costs that would offset any saving. This means we maintain the current provision of two immediately available fire appliances in Hastings.
Looking further ahead
The Fire Authority does not have to take final decisions on its budget for 2025/26 until February 2025, but has asked officers to identify options for achieving permanent savings to balance the budget at the earliest opportunity
The amount required to balance the budget for 2025/26 based on current modelling is £2.211m.
The CFA paper recommends that the Fire Authority request that Officers develop an options appraisal for Mayfield On-Call Fire Station. These will return to the Fire Authority in the summer of 2024 and will include details of any required public consultation.
Further information about the rationale for this recommendation can be found in the Fire Authority papers: https://esfrs.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=412
About the Fire Authority
The primary duties of the Fire Authority are:-
• To provide a Fire Service and to ensure its efficiency
• To provide the efficient training of members of the Service
• To ensure that efficient mobilising and communications arrangements exist
• To make arrangements to obtain information needed for firefighting purposes
• To make arrangements to ensure that the steps are taken to mitigate damage to property through firefighting
• To make arrangements to provide fire safety advice
• To make arrangements to give mutual assistance to other Fire Services
• To ensure that adequate water supplies are available for firefighting purposes