Cambridgeshire Fire Service living 'hand to mouth', says chief officer

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service chief Chris Strickland is to retire in the autumn

A county's fire service is living "hand to mouth", its chief officer has said.

Chris Strickland, who is set to leave Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service later this year, told a fire authority meeting there was "no spare fat on the bone" to absorb future budget cuts.

Mr Strickland told the fire authority meeting the service had updated a plan for how it could potentially downsize.

It comes as the fire authority agreed a 2.93% increase to its share of council tax bills for this year.

Mr Strickland said the decision announced last year by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service to withdraw from the shared control room would have a "significant financial impact", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"This is something we will have to think about because the reality is it will impact on our ability to support and deliver fire and rescue services," he said.

However, Mr Strickland said he still hoped the Suffolk brigade could still change its mind, as he said the shared control room saved both services money, and that Cambridgeshire had provided a good service over the years.The council tax increase agreed by the fire authority means that a Band D household will pay £82.26 a year to the fire service, an increase of £2.34 from last year.

Fire authority members unanimously agreed to support the council tax increase

Matthew Warren, deputy chief executive of the service, said the "key risk" facing the fire service budget in the coming financial year was the staff pay increase.

He explained the authority had budgeted for a 3% increase, but did not know what the final pay agreement would be, as that was not decided until after the budget had been set.

Mr Warren said the fire service had recently been informed of some additional funding, so he said if the pay award was higher at 4%, the authority would still be able to fund it.The fire authority members unanimously agreed to support the council tax increase.