Chief Fire and Rescue Officer

Written submission from the Local Government Association (CFRA 03)

1. Introduction

1.1. The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national voice of local government. We work with councils to support, promote and improve local government.

1.2. We are a politically-led, cross party organisation which works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government. We aim to influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils so they are able to deliver local solutions to national problems.

2. Summary

2.1. Fire authorities provide the pubic with a valuable service which protects and saves lives. Any funding settlement should be fair and reflect how valued the service is by communities.

2.2. The track record of fire authorities in identifying efficiency savings is impressive. Nevertheless, fire authorities will struggle to make further cuts without impacting on frontline services.

2.3. National resilience is a vital aspect of the work of the fire service. The Government should ensure that fire authorities are not left in the unfortunate position of having to fund national resilience gaps from their limited resources.

3. What plans are there to base future funding of the fire sector on an assessment of risk? And will the Government publish any such assessment as part of the 2015/16 Spending Review

3.1. The Chancellor of the Exchequer made some significant announcements in the 2012 Autumn Statement about the future funding of public services. The Autumn Statement set the level for Total Managed Expenditure (TME) in 2015-16 and noted that: ‘the Government will operate on the principle that departmental resource budgets will continue on the same trajectory in 2015-16 as over the period of the Spending Review 2010.’ It was confirmed in Budget 2013 that this rate of reduction will continue until 2017/18.

3.2. For the fire sector this implies a reduction of around 6 per cent per year in government funding.

3.3. Unlike many other public services, Fire and Rescue Services plan on the basis of risk rather than demand. The outcome of this approach at the local level is the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP).

3.4. However, it is not clear what level of risk assessment by central government took place in the 2010 spending review or will take place in the 2015/16 spending review. If a risk approach is not being applied centrally, then it throws up a potential disjuncture between national funding decisions and local risk assessments.

4. Is the Government going to publish proposals to encourage the installation of automatic fire suppression systems?

4.1. The installation and use of automatic fire suppression systems (sprinklers) helps to prevent fires. These system help people to evacuate the building in the event of a fire occurring. Sprinklers have been incorporated in some buildings for a while now and were originally developed as a means of reducing fire losses to property and contents. Over recent years there has been a growing recognition of their use as a means of contributing to people’s safety, which is now recognised in current UK guidance to the building regulations.  [1]

4.2. Firefighters often use 15 times more water from hoses to do the same job as a sprinkler. Moreover, where a sprinkler system has been installed:

· fire deaths have been almost eliminated;

· fire injuries have been reduced by 80 per cent;

· significant improvement has been seen in firefighter safety;

· property damage has been reduced by over 80 per cent;

· effects of arson has been reduced;

· reduction in the environmental impact of fire has been reduced;

· reduction in the cost of repairing infrastructure after a fire has occurred. [2]

4.3. The main cost associated with sprinkler systems is that of capital for the installation. The cost of installation is estimated to be about one to two per cent of the total cost of construction. There are also on-going maintenance costs, which are estimated to be between £75 and £150 per year. Such costs are not prohibitive when considered against their role in improving public safety. They are particularly valuable in those buildings that are used by vulnerable adults, such as the elderly and school children.

5. The fire service now has a much wider role and contributes to reductions in road traffic accidents, youth offending and improving safety at home. To what extent is this wider role acknowledged and valued in Government and how is it reflected in the government’s vision for the fire sector?

5.1. The Chief Fire Officer’s Association’s (CFOA) report, Fighting Fires or Firefighting, highlighted the range of activities undertaken by Fire and Rescue Services that have a positive impact in reducing costs elsewhere in the public sector.

5.2. The report notes that Fire and Rescue Services are making a direct contribution to reducing public spending by reducing the demand on other public agencies through their wider work in communities. These include areas such as:

· Youth unemployment .

· Road traffic collisions .

· Anti - social behaviour .

· School exclusion .

· Accidents in the home .

· Reoffending .

· Commercial losses caused by fire .

· Economic loss caused by commercial fires .

· Troubled families (£9bn) .

5.3. CFOA has called on Government to recognise the impact Fire and Rescue Services has on delivering a range of policy agendas across Government. We would like central government to evaluate how this contribution can be recognised and funded over the coming years.

April 2013