Agenda item

The PFCC presented the proposed Fire precept and budget for 2022/23, which were based on an increase in the precept of £5 per year for Band D Council Tax. The PFCC highlighted the following points:

·         The proposed precept and budget came at a time of significant financial uncertainty, as a result of the one-year funding settlement announced by the government and increases in the cost of living.

·         This situation made it particularly important to consider how any increase in the precept would affect Northamptonshire residents and to ensure that the budget he set was sustainable.

·         Since becoming the fire and rescue authority in 2019 he had taken action to build a sustainable base budget, establish a realistic capital programme and increase reserves. He had also continued to make a case to the government for recognition of the particular financial pressures faced by the authority. This case had been heard: the government had given Northamptonshire and the other seven lowest charging fire and rescue authorities one-off flexibility to raise the precept by £5 in 2022/23.

·         Taking the option of raising the precept by £5 would generate almost £1m in additional funding for Northamptonshire and with some medium term savings would enable him to set a balanced budget over the next three years, with an integrated capital programme and stronger reserves.

·         Responses to public consultation were supportive of the proposed precept:
61.3 per cent of those replying were prepared to pay an increase of at least £5, whilst 63.7 per cent thought that Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS) was doing a good or excellent job.

·         The proposed budget for 2022/23 was almost £4.6m more than it had been in 2019. He was proud of the progress that had been made in this time.

·         He considered that the precept proposed for 2022/23 would produce a fair and deliverable budget that represented the best deal for Northamptonshire residents and that would support the future of a vital service.

The Panel considered the proposed Fire precept.

The Panel questioned the PFCC about the resources available to NFRS relative to the demands on it. Panel members made the following points:

·         The additional resources that the PFCC had provided since 2019 were welcome but if the proposed precept and budget were agreed Northamptonshire would still be the second lowest precepting fire and rescue authority in the country, with the second lowest core spending power and the lowest reserves.

·         Progress was being made and the additional precept flexibility permitted by the government was positive but parity remained some distance away.

·         It was questioned whether a £5 increase in the precept was sufficient in light of the significant pressures on NFRS. NFRS needed to have sufficient officers and equipment to deal with the risks that could result from increasing residential and commercial development in the county, such as fires in large warehouses.

·         Reassurance was sought about the prospective impact of opening HMP Five Wells on local resources.

The PFCC made the following points:

·         It had taken some effort to secure the flexibility to raise the precept by £5.
He considered that the government should remove the limit on local flexibility to raise the precept. 

·         He was confident in the proposed budget. It was essential to use available resources as effectively as possible rather than just requesting more. This included learning from examples of good practice in other areas.

·         New government requirements could increase the demands on NFRS. As an example the government was seeking to increase the focus on mid-rise buildings in the current fire safety inspection regime, which could have implications for Northamptonshire.

·         His focus was on maximising the resources available for frontline services.
This could increase the potential need to discuss with partner organisations what services the force and NFRS could and could not provide in future. Partner organisations making service reductions should not assume that the force and NFRS would be able to expand their activity to meet resulting needs.

·         He had a good level of engagement with the HMP Five Wells management team, which aimed to make the prison a market-leading facility.

·         The fire and rescue authority did not receive any additional government funding connected with HMP Five Wells and was expected to meet any needs within existing fire cover arrangements. However, the prison should generate some economic benefit for the county rather than just representing an additional cost.

The Panel noted that the precept provided approximately 63 per cent of funding for the fire and rescue authority. Reassurance was sought about the robustness of assumptions regarding the local Council Tax base and collection rates built into the proposed budget and the impact if these were not met. It was also highlighted that current economic pressures could cause difficulties for more local taxpayers this year.

The PFCC made the following points: 

·         He particularly thanked Northamptonshire residents for being prepared to make a higher contribution to the fire and rescue authority’s resources given current economic pressures.

·         Council Tax was guaranteed to produce a certain amount of funding. The fire and rescue authority had an existing smoothing reserve that could then be used to mitigate a deficit in the final position on the Council Tax collection fund. 

The Chief Finance Officer further advised that the two Northamptonshire local authorities had provided very good estimates of their collection fund positions as well as sharing other relevant information that had informed the proposed budget.

The Panel sought clarification of the latest position concerning the provision of support services to NFRS. The Chief Finance Officer provided additional information in response to points raised by members during the course of discussion as follows:

·         NFRS currently used LGSS support services. These had worked well but NFRS would be moving to a new ERP system from 1^st April 2023.

·         Northamptonshire Police was moving to the same system a year earlier following the withdrawal from Multi-Force Shared Services. A phased transfer to the new common system would be more effective than both organisations changing arrangements at once.

The Panel sought clarification of particular elements within the fire and rescue authority capital programme. The Chief Finance Officer provided additional information in response to points raised by members during the course of discussion as follows:

·         The higher capital allocation for Information & Communications Technology in 2022/23 compared to subsequent years reflected the need to front-load work to address legacy issues, following a lack of investment in the past.

·         The capital programme for estates reflected a similar need to deal with legacy issues, including removing asbestos from buildings and providing better welfare facilities for firefighters.

·         The capital funding allocation in 2022/23 reflected the development of the new joint fleet workshop for NFRS and Northamptonshire Police. The fire and rescue authority had purchased the workshop building and the force would pay a charge for using it, whereas the opposite arrangement applied to Darby House.

The PFCC confirmed that he had done as much as he could to seek additional
one-off capital funding support from the government to mitigate the costs of financing legacy items in the capital programme. The government had not yet responded, but the proposed budget made prudent assumptions on this matter.

The Chair invited the Panel to agree its conclusions on the proposed Fire precept.

RESOLVED that: the Panel supports the Northamptonshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner’s proposed Fire precept for 2022/23.