Firefighters now expected to pay for their own training

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service plans to offer interest-free "educational" loans of up to 5,000 for its workforce to take courses which it cannot afford to provide.

Staff will have to pay back the loans within 12 months and the money will come out of their wages, a report to South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority reveals.

Fire safety and emergency rescue training will continue to be provided by the fire service, but staff wishing to work towards qualifications like NVQs and professional diplomas will be asked to apply for a loan.

The fire service, which has about 950 operational staff and 200 support workers, will offer the loans to applicants who have more than three months' service and are not subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Although firefighters are entitled to apply, fire chiefs expect most applications to come from support staff.

The move comes as fire services across the UK prepare for funding cuts of 13 per cent in real terms over the next four years.

South Yorkshire head of communications, Steve Chu, said the idea had been proposed by an employee through the fire service's staff suggestion scheme.

"Historically, our training budgets have always been weighted heavily in favour of safety-critical training for firefighters, which has meant that various other professional development opportunities have not been able to be funded," he said.

"We had to prioritise the budgets so some training requests had to be turned down. The safety-critical training for firefighters will be continued.

"We have to look right across the organisation for savings but safety-critical training is absolutely essential because our core business is responding safely to incidents and protecting members of the public.

"The reason for writing this plan was not in response to the cuts. It was in response to a positive suggestion from a member of staff."

The report, to be considered by the fire authority on November 29, says the amount loaned to an employee at any one time would be limited to 5,000 for tax reasons. Total loans paid out by the authority would not exceed 30,000 in any tax year, meaning "it may be necessary to decline some applications".

The loan scheme is one of several measures considered to cut costs. Last month the Yorkshire Post revealed how the service had drawn up a plan to slim down senior management to save more than 300,000 a year.

The service has also considered selling advertising space on its engines and at fire stations.

That proposal was discussed less than a fortnight after it was revealed that the brigade would be left 3.5m out of pocket when a fleet of four fire engines comes into service three years late. They were too heavy for road use and the firm which built them went out of business before changes could be made, resulting in a legal wrangle with administrators.