Tyne and Wear fire service faces being worst hit by incomprehensible Labour funding shake-up
The Government is being urged to protect fire services from cuts that could result in more than 2,000 job losses – and leave Tyne and Wear as one of the country’s worst-hit areas.
A report from the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) last week warned that fire and rescue services are facing £102 million worth of real terms budgets cut due to proposed Government grant reductions and changes to how it distributes money to councils.
The situation has been branded “incomprehensible”, with concerns that the cuts would equate to the loss of up to 2,300 firefighters across the country, while the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) has predicted it will be “amongst the worst affected” under Labour’s Fair Funding Review 2.0 as things stand.
Tom Woodwark, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Newcastle and opposition leader on the Tyne and Wear Fire Authority, said that “fairer” funding was needed to avoid local council taxpayers being hit with “big increases” next year.
Coun Woodwark added: “National fire chiefs are describing the Government’s proposals as incomprehensible and North East brigades are warning that difficult decisions may become unavoidable. While the Labour chair of the Tyne and Wear Fire Authority is warning that changes must not leave his brigade in a “more vulnerable position”, the reality is that the Labour Government is responsible for this and responsible for ensuring that the North East will lose out.
“Labour MPs and the regional Mayor should be standing up for constituents on this issue, rather than be silently complicit in disproportionate cuts to an essential public service for our region. Tyne and Wear residents deserve better.”
The NFCC said that fire services are projected to receive 4.3% of the total funding allocation for local government, down from 4.9%, under Labour’s reforms.
That funding review, aimed at redistributing more funding to councils in disadvantaged areas, has also sparked concern that gains for cash-strapped local authorities in the North East “may be lower than expected” and that the likes of Sunderland and South Tyneside are “set to be big losers”
A TWFRS spokesperson said the service would “always do our best to work hard for communities, but this needs adequate funding for day-to-day services as well as ensuring we can invest in our staff, fire stations, and other essential equipment and facilities”.
Labour’s Phil Tye, who chairs the fire authority, added: “The North East would under the current funding proposals see further budget reductions and a disproportionate adverse impact comparative to most other areas of the country in terms of spending power and real terms funding.
“Strengthening community resilience locally as well as nationally requires adequate and fair funding for Fire and Rescue Services and I welcome the opportunity and urge government to adequately invest and support its Fire and Rescue Service to continue to play a full part in community safety and protecting communities.”
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said that it understood the challenges faced by fire services.
A spokesperson added: “To support our brave firefighters who work tirelessly to keep communities safe, standalone fire and rescue authorities will receive an increase of almost £70 million next year. We continue to work closely with the sector to ensure Fire and Rescue Services have the resources they need.”