Agenda item

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

John Buckley, Chief Fire Officer, introduced the item and highlighted that circumstances have changed since the publication of the agenda, and a substantive change is to be made to the recommendation.

Becky Smeathers, Head of Finance, presented the report and highlighted the following points:

a)  Since the budget was set in February 2020, global financial circumstances have changed significantly due to the impact of Covoid-19 and there is now significant pressure on the Fire and Rescue Service Budget. Appropriate amendments to the budget have been identified and approval is sought for a temporary increase in borrowing limits if required. Any additional borrowing will be applied short-term follow the established approval process;

b)  Whilst initially a Central Government grant to the Service of £191k was received in March to assist with the cost of additional Covid-19 response work, a further £867k has now been received, giving a total of £1,058k. As such, it is not anticipated that the Service will need to draw on general reserves, so the fourth recommendation is now withdrawn, but the ongoing financial position will continue to be closely monitored;

c)  Budgets continued to be monitored and the Service is currently spending less on training although alternative online training will need to be established to ensure that training standards are maintained. ‘Safe and well’ visits have been temporarily halted;

d)  It is anticipated that council tax and business rates collection will be substantially impacted. The budget contains a surplus in the collection fund of £94k. This is now not expected to materialise, with significance financial strains on many business and citizens. The ongoing effects will not be apparent for some time, but updates will be provided to members of the Finance and Resources Committee and to the Policy and Strategy Committee in July if required;

e)  With regard to next year’s budget, national circumstances will be monitored carefully and considered prior to any proposals;

f)  The new firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) has now been delivered to stations and authorisation is sought to write off the value of the old withdrawn PPE, which will be temporarily retained as backup;

g)  The interim external audit of accounts will be completed remotely. Whilst the final submission deadline has been extended to the end of November, the Service must have the accounts available on its website by the end of August. The external auditors, Ernst and Young, are reviewing timetables as their NHS audit of accounts has been understandably postponed, the Fire Service’s audit will be prioritised.

In response to members’ questions, it is noted that the Service replaces all PPE at the same time to ensure that all firefighters have the same level and standard of equipment. PPE generally has a life expectancy of 10 years, after which time it is not considered suitable for protective use and does not have any second-hand monetary value, although it may be gifted to charities for display.

Members of the Committee thanked Becky Smeathers and the Finance Team for their prompt response in extreme circumstances, and welcomed the level of the Central Government grant, which may be a reflection of the Chief Fire Officer’s work to raise the profile of this Service and the sector as a whole.

Resolved to

1)  increase the operational boundary from £31,850m to £33,850m;

2)  increase the authorised limit from £35,035m to £37,035m;

3)  increase the 12 month loan maturity profile limit from 20% to 30%;

4)  write-off £95k second hand PPE out of the stock account.