£1.3m ‘stealth cuts’
FIRE BRIGADE FUND FEARS
THE Government has been accused of making ‘stealth cuts’ by County Durham’s fire chief.
Stuart Errington, chief fire officer (CFO) at County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS), was speaking about the impact of austerity.
Since 2012, almost 58% has been slashed from the brigade’s funding for day-to-day running costs.
But at the same time, government support to buy new fire engines and other vital equipment has been almost totally axed.
Appearing at Monday’s meeting of Durham County Council’s Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel, CFO Errington was asked about the impact of PFI contracts on the service’s finances.
He said: “I’m pleased we haven’t got more [PFI contracts] because you’re limited then on what you can do with those stations.
“But we look at our overall costs of running the estate as part of budget management and there’s a bigger issue with capital funding. “There is a stealth cut of about £1.3m on top of what [we’ve already seen]. “I’m not worried about PFI, I’m worried about capital spending.” CDDFRS currently has PFI contracts for its stations at Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland. The brigade is also consulting on plans to save £448,000 in the next financial year, which could see some staffing shake-ups.
There is a stealth cut of about £1.3m on top of what [we’ve already seen]
CFO Errington