Increase to fire service tax

For Band D homes, the charge will go up by just under £2 a year

The tax bill for the fire service in Devon and Somerset is to go up.

Members of the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Authority approved a 1.99 per cent rise from April.

That will see the share of the council tax bill for the fire service for Band D homes go up by £1.72 to £88.24 – equal to an extra 14p a month.

The authority, made up of councillors from the two counties, rejected an option to freeze the tax level.

They were told that would lead to a cut in investment and further savings being needed.

The budget includes £3.5m of investment including more than £1m to fund the new on-call duty system called Pay for Availability.

The authority was told the new payment system underpinned service changes approved in January under the Safer Together programme, designed to better align resources with risk.

The new payment scheme is expected to improve recruitment, retention and community safety by improving availability of fire engines.

The decision on Safer Together means Somerset keeps its station in Porlock, with the withdrawal of a number of fire engines from stations in Bridgwater, Martock, Taunton and Yeovil.

In Devon, Budleigh Salterton and Topsham stations will close, while Crediton, Lynton, and Totnes will lose appliances.

The new Pay for Availability scheme has not yet been agreed, but it has been included in the budget for the second half of the year.

The spending plans include extra staff for prevention and protection and equipment for new Medium Rescue Pumps, with 15 having been ordered at a cost of £1.5million.

The authority is also waiting for the impact of any recommendations on fire safety following the Grenfell Inquiry, which could add extra work to the service.

The authority meeting on Tuesday morning was told grant funding from the Government had risen by 1.7 per cent for next year, in line with inflation, following years of cuts due to austerity amounting to almost a quarter since 2015.

Members were told that just over three-quarters of spending goes on employee costs.

Torbay Conservative Dave Thomas said failing to approve the 1.99 per cent increase would be storing up problems for the future.

Rob Hannaford said consultation showed the service was valued and people were prepared to pay more. 

The Exeter Labour councillor said although council tax hit low-paid people the hardest, the increase was modest and manageable.

Somerset Conservative Terry Napper said the over-arching responsibility was to support the service to do its job. 

Authority chair Sara Randall-Johnson, Conservative, said: “It’s about protection of the public, which we can improve with the increase in council tax.”

The 2020/21 budget includes £1.3million of savings, leaving the authority needing to find £1.7million from reserves to balance the budget.

The authority also approved a medium term financial strategy covering up to 2025.

That predicted a possible funding gap between income and spending of between £4million and £10million depending on the level of future council tax increases.

The report said the authority had saved £13.5million over the last five years.

The authority approved a three-year capital spending programme up to 2023.

Projects include replacement fire stations at Camels Head in Plymouth and Brixham, and a proposal for a new station at Plymstock.

The authority was told the service’s 121 front-line fire engines will reduce to 112 next year, alongside 19 special appliances.

The service has ordered 15 new Medium Rescue Pumps under plans to introduce 25 over the next three years costing £6.6million.

The fire authority is legally required to set a budget and council tax share by March 1 for the following financial year from April.

The level of council tax increase is capped by the Government at two per cent. 

Any higher and the authority would have to hold a referendum to seek public approval which would cost an estimated £2.3million.

The final council tax faced by residents will be made up of the share for the police and fire service added to the bill from local authorities and town and parish councils.