Retiring County Durham fire chief warns 'lives could be lost' amid funding crisis

Fire chiefs in the North East have said “lives could be lost” unless the Government urgently addresses a funding crisis.

Bosses from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) said funding has reached “desperate levels” and that the jobs of up to 50 frontline firefighters are at risk.

Chief Fire Officer Stuart Errington, who is due to step down in January after 30 years in the service and nearly eight years as CFO, says the crisis is the worst he has known in his career.

He said: “Issuing this warning is not something we would ever do lightly, but we have been left with no option – we are in a grave situation, with lives at risk.

“It’s as bad as I’ve known it and I have serious concerns about the future of the service as a highly respected and professional organisation unless the Government wakes up to the reality of what we are facing.

“Our firefighters have adapted in every way possible, accepting news ways of working, but there is nowhere left to look for savings without eating into frontline services.”

He has written an open letter to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to raise the issue.

Fire Authority chair, Councillor John Shuttleworth, who also penned the letter, said: “We have requested meetings with ministers, but they have fallen on deaf ears. 

“The situation is so critical that we’ll get on a train to London and bang on their doors if necessary – it’s at the point of desperation.”

The budget runs from the beginning of April to the end of March and a provisional funding settlement from the Government is expected in December.

Unlike police forces, which are funded through the Home Office, fire and rescue services’ funding comes via the Department for Levelling-up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

In the letter to Mr Gove, the pair have warned they will have to make “unacceptable decisions” if  inflationary pressures are not matched by increases in Government funding.

The letter, which has also been sent to County Durham and Darlington MPs, added: “If inflationary pressures are not covered by funding increases in the Local Government settlement, the result will be a reduction in frontline whole time and on-call firefighters with removal of fire engines and a resultant degradation in service.

“This will increase response times and risk and reduce the level of vitally important prevention and building inspection work.”

CDDFRS said until 2014/15 it received £1.3m a year in capital funding to spend on replacement fire appliances and buildings.

That funding has reportedly completely gone due to a “stealth cut” and every new appliance and fire station now has to be funded from the revenue budget, nearly 65 per cent of which comes from council tax, and the rest from the Government grant and business rates.

As well as more grant funding, CFO Errington and Councillor Shuttleworth are calling for greater flexibility on the council tax.

At present there is a limit of two per cent on a Band D property, equating to around £2-a-year per household. 

That generates additional income for CDDFRS of £380,000 compared to a £750,000 deficit from non-pay budgets with inflation running at 10 per cent. 

The fire chiefs want that to be increased to £5 a year per Band D property, equating to just 10 pence a week per household.

CFO Errington. said: “I honestly believe the people of County Durham and Darlington would pay an extra 10p a week to protect the number of firefighters in the interests of public safety."

A Government spokesperson said: “We understand that fire and rescue authorities - like all parts of local government - are being impacted by inflation and we are working with councils to understand how this will affect their budgets.  

“We will be laying out plans for the Local Government Finance Settlement in due course and are taking the concerns from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service on board.”

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