Fire chiefs set to agree £3m cuts package

Members of the South Yorkshire Fire Authority will meet on February 21 to agree its council tax precept and confirm its budget.

The authority has seen a 9.5 per cent reduction in grant income from the Government in 2011/12, followed by a further 3.4 percent cut in 2012/13.

More than two-thirds of the county’s fire service budget is provided by central government and further and deeper cuts are expected in 2013/14

The authority have been asking the public for their views on how they can make the reductions without affecting services.

A number of measures are already being implemented, including a reduction in the service’s management team from five posts to four and a general management restructure.

Some vacancies have not been filled and “non-operational” functions are being assessed. To meet the bigger cuts in grant expected from 2013/14 the authority said it was looking at “other options” in order to make the necessary savings required.

Coun Jim Andrews, chairman of South Yorkshire Fire Authority, said: “These are difficult decisions and we want to reassure the public of South Yorkshire that every attempt is being made to ensure operational front line cover is not affected.

“We have been developing a four-year plan of action to manage the cuts and by careful financial management we will do all we can to bring costs down while maintaining revenue levels and a service the public expect.”

The public are being invited to comment on how the authority might manage a reduction in its budget over the coming years. Comments can be made by logging on to www.southyorks.gov.uk. Anyone interested in contributing can also write to South Yorkshire Joint Secretariat, FREEPOST, RLZL-KJUE-HRCB.