Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire's Draft Fire and Rescue Service Budget and Precept 2025-26
Report of the Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel (The Panel) to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire (The PFCC)
With regard to: The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire’s Fire and Rescue Service Budget and Precept 2025/26.
We are required under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to consider, and report our views formally to you, on your proposed Budget/Precept for the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service for 2025/26. Accordingly, we considered those proposals at our meeting on 10 February 2025.
We have the power to veto your Precept if we consider it to be too low or too high. In the event of the veto being exercised, a revised proposed Precept would be required from you.
You attended the 10 February 2025 Panel meeting accompanied by your Deputy, Chief Executive Officer and the Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) for the Fire and Rescue Service.
In your introduction to the report, you explained that the total budget requirement for the service was £51.996m including a Council Tax funding requirement of £33.914m and a proposed increase of £5 per annum (£91.77 per Band D property).
The Panel also considered:
•The Capital Strategy and Capital Programme Report.
•The Reserves Strategy
•The Treasury Management Strategy
•The results of the public and stakeholder engagement consultation.
The Panels minutes of the meeting can be found at Browse meetings - Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel - Staffordshire County Council. The Panels principle questioning was around the changing service requirements and demands due to factors such as climate change, funding, staffing, and fire preventative work.
The Panel felt that the future long term planning of the service was imperative, particularly with the possibility of changing demands and funding. This is an area which the panel will review in the future.
The Panel agreed to support the 5.85% (£5 per annum) increase in the Fire and Rescue Authority Precept for 2025/26.
Councillor G Heesom
Vice Chairman, Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel.