North Yorkshire fire service face borrowing £25 million

According to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) the sum is equal to around 70 per cent of the service's annual budget and comes after the government abolished its capital grant. 

At a meeting of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel Michael Porter, director of finance at the commissioner’s office, said that the fire precept can only be increased by 1.99% per cent, and there will be no capital grant from government, leaving North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service requiring £31.1 million to fund its projects over the next five years.

Mr Porter said: “Almost the entirety of that £31 million would need to be borrowed. Borrowing would need to be around £25 million to £26 million to be able to fund that level of investment."

The service requires capital funding to pay for vehicles, maintenance of property and fire kit.

Steve Howley, FBU North Yorkshire brigade secretary, said: “The government has left North Yorkshire fire and rescue service in a horrendous position – it’s abolished the entirety of its capital funding for it. When coupled with the already desperate financial state of the service there will be serious implications. The fire and rescue service is now struggling to buy the basics needed for our firefighters to protect their communities, and struggling to invest in its dilapidated buildings, many of which are unfit for purpose in 2022. For example, we still have several stations which do not have adequate facilities for female members of staff.

“The Government needs to start taking fire and rescue seriously and fund it appropriately. The firefighters of North Yorkshire are staring down the barrel of a gun, either cut firefighter jobs to pay for basic provisions or fail to have adequate facilities or equipment. Neither option provides the public of North Yorkshire with the protection they deserve or require.

“The Chief Fire Officer and Police Fire and Crime Commissioner need to be open and honest with the public regarding just how dangerous the financial picture is.

"We must not forget that two North Yorkshire MPs are government ministers, one of them being the Chancellor. They should not be allowing this to happen, they should be protecting our firefighters and their constituents, the public of North Yorkshire.”

The comments come as the amount of extra council tax which residents will have to pay to fund police and fire services in the coming year in York and North Yorkshire has been set.

The Police, Fire and Crime Panel has unanimously agreed to:

*A 3.69 per cent rise in the policing precept - an average increase of £10 per year for a Band D property.

*A 1.98 per cent increase in the fire and rescue precept - an average increase of £1.47 per year for a Band D property.

The increases for the financial year 2022/2023 had been proposed by North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe following extensive consultation.

She said the money would be invested by the chief constable in measures including 34 additional officers allocated to the customer contact centre, 13 additional officers to support neighbourhood policing teams, nine additional officer and staff posts to raise standards and improve the quality of engagement with victims of violence against women and girls and10 additional officers to grow the roads policing team.

She said she knew these were difficult times for people and so had tried to balance the pressures on household finances with the need to ensure North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue had the resources to keep us safe.

“The increase in the precept will allow us to deliver on having more police officers on our streets and support efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, but with other financial pressures increasing it means there will be a continued need to collaborate and develop further efficiencies while protecting communities," she said.

“I continue to call for fairer funding for North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service - Ministers need to do more to recognise the challenges faced for communities as diverse and sparse as North Yorkshire and York."

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