Tyne and Wear’s fire service has warned it could be forced to make “difficult” cuts next year unless the government covers the cost of pay rises.
Finance bosses have issued a gloomy prediction that the organisation could soon be facing a shortfall of more than £1m and have to slash frontline services to make up the gap. While backing calls for a substantial pay rise for firefighters, the area’s chief fire officer, councillors, and the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) pleaded with the government this week to protect fire and rescue services amid warnings of a “tsunami” of money struggles – as the cost of living crisis bites local authorities as well as households.
Members of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority were told on Wednesday that the service could be left with a £1.3m burden if national pay agreements result in higher than expected rises for staff. Finance director Dennis Napier said that officials had “underestimated” the scale of the cost of living crisis, with inflation having now rocketed to more than 9.4%, when budgeting for 3% staff pay rises this year and now faced “quite a significant shock” to the balance sheet.
