Fire Authority vows to fight for its resources

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority has vowed to keep up the pressure for a fair grant settlement from Government.

Authority members met to agree the budget for 2012-13 and agreed to freeze its precept on council tax and make savings of £6.5m.

Chairman of the Authority Councillor David Acton said: “There’s no question about it, we are fighting for our resources as we are facing unprecedented cuts in our budget. Savings made last year and reductions planned for the future currently total £19m over a four year period. If nothing changes with the current grant situation, there could be a further £10m to save in the next few years.

“So far we have managed to achieve this without closing fire stations and without the need for compulsory redundancies. But if the national grant formula doesn’t alter, then there will be a difficult road ahead.”

The Fire Service has reduced staff by 400 through the loss of 300 uniformed posts and 100 support roles. Further savings will be made through a range of measures outlined in its Operational Strategy and in how frontline emergency service is delivered, including a new rostering system at stations.

The Fire Authority is taking advantage of a Government grant being offered to those local authorities setting a zero increase in their council tax. By doing this, they hope to lighten the burden faced by the public during the current time of austerity.

In a bid to prevent further large scale cuts, Fire Authority members from all political parties unanimously passed a resolution expressing concern about the current situation and appealing for a fairer Government grant settlement in future.

Councillor Acton said: “We have already made significant reductions over the past few years and our budget agreed today will save an additional £6.5m.

“We know everyone is facing hardship which is why we have agreed this without any additional burden on council tax payers.

“We have been doing everything we can to lobby for the change in the current national grant formula and we will continue to do so. We want the formula to take into account the different challenges faced by Metropolitan Fire Authorities like Greater Manchester compared to the more rural areas. We are not asking for anything other than a fairer settlement.

“Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority is working really hard to provide the best possible service to the communities of Greater Manchester within the resources we have.”