No “salami slicing” of fire service funding, says Ashfield council leader

The Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority met on October 11, to discuss updates on community safety across the county.

Papers highlighted significant government cuts for services improving national resilience.

The fire service primarily deals with fire incidents, damage and call-outs, but also attends more specialist jobs around community safety.

These include marauding terrorist attacks (MTA), made up of specially-trained staff within Hucknall and Highfields fire stations.

The service also has National Interagency Liaison Officers (NILOs) and flood rescue teams, based in Highfields and Newark fire stations.

However, Home Office confirmed to the fire service that future grants towards its national resilience assets will reduce by 66 per cent.

The MTA and NILO grant has reduced from £56,000 to £19,500, with flood rescue now receiving no grant.

Papers read: “With current financial pressures, the reduction in grants will need to be considered in conjunction with wider budgeting should [NFRS] wish to deliver these capabilities in line with current ways of working.”

Coun Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind), leader of Ashfield District Council, chaired the meeting and told the Local Democracy Reporting Service afterwards that ministers can’t keep “salami slicing” the fire service’s budget.

He said: “I think they’re some of the most important assets, we’ve managed it by taking it out of other budgets.

“We’re still living at the end of the Tory budgets, specialised stuff like lifts to high-rise flats, flooding, marauding terrorism, where someone’s running around with a machete, all of those unusual things that aren’t putting out a fire.”

Coun Zadrozny hopes the change of government will lead to fire services getting more money.

He added: “The two things the [previous Government] did is cut the budgets and restrict local authorities.

“We used to have flexibilities to invest in things to save money or make money – they took a lot of those freedoms away from local councillors.

“We’ve been elected the same as they have, trust us to get on and do the job – if there’s less money around we need those freedoms to know what services matter to people and how to manage them. I hope Labour relax a bit of that.”

Speaking in the meeting, Coun Nick Raine (Lab), who represents Basford on the city council, added: “Perhaps we should be lobbying our MPs [about funding] because that reduction in funding is significant.

“Tragedies going on all around the world today, you’re more likely to be seeing more terrorism than less.”

Before Gedling MP Michael Payne entered Westminster, he was – and still is -the deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council. He’s also chair of the Nottinghamshire Fire Authority.

In a July meeting, he said that he would use his position to speak up for Nottinghamshire’s fire services and work cross-party to get extra funding.

He said at the time: “It’s not a hidden secret that public finances are not in the position I think we were told they are in by the previous administration. It looks like there’s a potential hole of £19 to £20 billion.

“There’s an effort in terms of lobbying around the budget in the autumn and the local government finance settlement.

“There’s a job of work from me, alongside other Nottingham and Notts MPs and city, county and district and borough councillors, to make sure we are pressing the case with the Home Secretary and the new fire minister.

“While I know the police quite rightly get important attention from the Home Office and the Department for Local Government, Yvette [Cooper, the Home Secretary] has made it clear the fire service is an important part, too.

“I intend to work cross-party… to make sure we continue to press the case, for however long I’m here on the fire authority, and thereafter.”

The autumn Budget will be set by Chancellor Rachel Reeves (Lab) on Wednesday, October 30.