Outlining Financial Challenges

ESSEX County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) has outlined the financial challenges it faces ahead of the Government’s forthcoming Fair Funding 2.0 announcement, which could change how fire and rescue services across England are funded.
Early National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) modelling suggests Essex could face a £5.1 million (13.7%) reduction in Government grant under current proposals – a significant pressure at a time when demand on the Service has risen by 17 per cent over the past five years.
Over that period, Essex has seen a steady increase in incidents linked to population growth, climate-related risks such as wildfires and flooding, and more complex rescues and road traffic collisions.
The county’s risk profile has also evolved, with major transport corridors including the M25, A12, A13, A127 and M11, three international ports, two airports, 350 miles of coastline, and nationally significant energy and fuel infrastructure in Thurrock and Canvey Island that supports London and the wider South East.
Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive Rick Hylton said: “This discussion about fair funding is vital, because it’s about keeping our communities safe.
“In Essex, we are seeking to protect the response, prevention and protection work that sits at the heart of our Community Risk Management Plan – priorities shaped by the people of Essex.
“We’ve been speaking to our local MPs about the unique risks and responsibilities of counties like ours – from major transport corridors and coastline to ports, airports and critical national infrastructure – and the importance of protecting fire funding in real terms.
“Reintroducing capital funding would ensure essential investment in buildings, vehicles and equipment doesn’t come at the expense of frontline capacity.
“With a fair, risk-based approach to funding, we can keep responding when emergencies happen, keep preventing incidents before they occur, and keep protecting the people and places that make Essex such a great place to live and work.”
A statement issued by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said: “Despite increasing and evolving demand on the Service, the number of house fires in Essex has reduced by 13.3% since 2019, thanks to the continued focus on preventing emergencies and building safer, stronger communities.
“Last year, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service completed 10,701 home-fire-safety visits, fitting 14,600 smoke alarms, most for vulnerable residents.
“The Waterside Responder Scheme, in partnership with the RNLI, has helped cut water-related deaths by 13 per cent.
“The FireBike and FireCar programmes deliver advanced road safety training for motorcyclists.
“New Apprentice Prevention Officers across Essex also carry out a variety of prevention activities including home safety visits, fitting lifesaving smoke alarms and signposting residents to vital health and wellbeing services.
“These are practical examples of how prevention saves lives, reduces harm and supports wider public health – and why sustainable funding is essential to keep this work going for the long term.”
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has been engaging with Essex Members of Parliament at a series of key briefings to set out three key “asks” for Government:
Protect fire funding in real terms, so it keeps pace with inflation and pay.
Confirmation of £5 council tax precept flexibility each year. This allows fire and rescue authorities to increase the fire service portion of council tax by up to £5 on a Band D property each year, without holding a local referendum. In Essex, this equates to roughly 10p per week and raises around £2.2m annually.
Reintroduce national capital grants to modernise stations, appliances and training facilities.
Pictures: An Essex firefighter extinguishing a fire & Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive, Rick Hylton
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