Savings and transformation ahead for fire service
BEDFORDSHIRE Fire and Rescue Service has increased its council tax precept by the maximum to support delivering vital services.
The Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Authority this week (Tuesday 13 Feb) approved increasing council tax of 2.99 per cent - an increase of just £3.27 per year for a Band D property. It also approved significant efficiency savings in addition to making appropriate use of reserves to support balancing the budget.
As it faces an unprecedented financial challenge, this increase is just the beginning for the Service which, according to the Authority, must think differently to deliver change.
Cllr Michael Headley, Finance Lead at Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Authority, explained: “We need to make £1.35 million of savings over the next two years. We need a new approach, a fresh approach to transformation, to protect services for residents. It will be hard work over the next year to deliver the efficiencies through transformation. Change will not happen without investment and this is invest-to-save. We will be spending once to save off the baseline every year.”
In 2023 HMICFRS judged the Service to require improvement in several areas, including notably in the core functions of prevention, protection and emergency response. The fire service is also operating in an increasingly complex and demanding environment with unprecedented workloads driven by external factors including the Home Office reform programme, inspections, and the outcomes of public inquiries like the Grenfell Tower and Manchester Arena tragedies.
Assistant Chief Executive Gavin Chambers explained: “We need to find savings but we also will need to invest to build solid foundations to ensure we keep pace with the growth across Bedfordshire and the evolving demands on the fire and rescue service.
“Work needs to start now to deliver those savings because we are not currently addressing the scale of change necessary at the pace needed and we must think differently about how we operate.”
Next year’s budget (2024/25), which was signed off on Tuesday (13 Feb) sees capital investment of £1.1 million, including in fire engines, equipment and training for staff and investment in buildings.
To enable the Service to drive forward with the transformational change programme, the Authority provided the Service with a two-year invest-to-save fund to support transformation deliver, and also approved investment in an additional director-level role to lead this vital work.
Chief Fire Officer Andy Hopkinson added: “The Service is facing an unprecedented financial challenge – and we must transform to become a more efficient and effective fire and rescue Service that thinks differently whilst also doing the basics brilliantly.
“We will see great transformation in how we provide key services as we drive forward our invest-to-save agenda, whilst protecting frontline services as we work together to make Bedfordshire safer.”