Firefighters warn Hampshire could face savage ‘stealth cuts’ worth millions under government plans

Despite claiming austerity is over, research by the national Fire Brigades Union has revealed the government is preparing to slash £155m from firefighting budgets across England.

The proposals are expected to strike during the next year, with union leaders in Hampshire fearing it could lead to 15 per cent of the county’s budget being axed.

Last night the government hit back, claiming the reduction would not impact services and that wider cash is being made available.

But Whitehall’s comments failed to reassure officers nationally and in Hampshire, who said the cuts could cost lives.

Mark Chapman, chairman of Hampshire Fire Brigades’ Union, said the force was still reeling from austerity measures in 2010, which saw the service lose 30 per cent of its funding – £500,000 in Portsmouth alone – and 16 firefighters, resulting in 15 per cent longer attendance times.

He said: ‘The FBU has seen the austerity-motivated cuts agenda slice through the fat and any further cuts will now go through muscle and bone.

‘It is hard to envisage how this won’t have further detriment the service we provide and an already-increasing trend in attendance times.

‘The government is now expecting far too much from far too little.’

The cuts have been packaged up in the annual local government finance settlement, receiving ‘virtually no scrutiny from parliament’, unions said, prompting accusations the government was trying to ‘sneak through’ further austerity measures unnoticed.

The latest settlement was announced by James Brokenshire, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, representing a 15 per cent cut on the fund since 2016/17, the FBU said.

It comes as the number of rescues made by firefighters in Hampshire soared by 25 per cent this year – with the county only second behind London.

In the past year, the stretched service saved 2,074 people – with 186 being from fires and the rest coming from other emergency response jobs like car crashes.

Deputy chief fire officer Andy Bowers said Hampshire had been ‘aware of this budget reduction for some time’ and that it had been ‘factored into’ the county’s plans.

But he added: ‘Clearly any future reductions in budget will have an impact on fire and rescue services.

‘We will be working closely with our crews and engaging with our communities as we navigate our way through these challenging financial times.

‘Our priorities will always be keeping the people of Hampshire safe and giving the public the best possible value for money.’

Nationally, services saw a three per cent increase in fires and a one per cent increase in overall incidents attended by firefighters. Crews also rescued more than 45,000 people last year, four per cent more than the year before.

That includes 42,000 rescues from non-fire incidents, including flooding, hazardous chemical spillages, road traffic collisions, and lift rescues

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: ‘It is appalling that the government is trying to sneak through cuts to fire and rescue services with virtually no scrutiny. They are ramping up their austerity measures despite claiming that austerity is over.

‘Nearly two years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, this Tory government is still showing a complete disregard for public safety. A properly funded fire and rescue service is essential to protect our communities from fire and a wide range of other threats. These cuts are a danger to firefighters and a danger to the public.’

Responding, the government said the FBU ‘only talked about’ funding from the local government finance settlement.

‘This is misleading as fire and rescue authorities are also entitled to council tax funding, as well as income from delivering local services,’ a spokesman said.

‘Overall fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.3bn in 2019/20. Single-purpose fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 2.3 per cent in cash terms in 2019/20 and an overall increase of 0.3 per cent from 2015/16 to 2019/20.’