Shropshire Chief Fire Officer to meet Government Fire Service Advisor today
The former Chief Fire Officer of London, Sir Ken Knight, is visiting the county today as part of a spending review at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service which has already slashed £4.5 million from its £20 million annual budget.
Sir Ken, will visit a total of 15 fire and rescue services in three months as part of a Government spending review of English fire services. They include fire services protecting cities, rural areas and those which have seen huge cuts to grant, like Shropshire, and almost no reductions such as Hampshire.
Chief Fire Officer Paul Raymond will tell Sir Knight that it is “almost impossible” to make another £1 million in demanded cuts without an “increased risk” to the people of Shropshire.
The brigade has been regularly praised for being one of the best run in the country despite having a smaller budget than virtually every other fire and rescue service, said Mr Raymond.
A new report from Shropshire and Wrekin Fire Authority reveals almost a decade of radical financial savings made by the county brigade due to “continued underfunding” and more recent “deep cuts” to Government grants.
Firefighter numbers have been cut by 15 per cent, support staff by 10 per cent with a quarter of senior officer posts gone. There is a pay freeze, the number of fire appliances have been halved on some stations and the remainder are kept on the road longer, and retained crews have been given more work to reduce wholetime firefighter costs. Outsourcing of everything from fire hydrant maintenance to legal costs has been introduced to cut fees.
They have also been “burdened” by the Government with an enforced £300,000 a year payment for the national radio system.
Some essential services are now shared with neighbouring fire services, office staff have renegotiated contracts and “haggled” down outside contractor fees to make savings, including a £100,000 reduction in insurance costs.
