Avon Fire Authority halts proposed job cuts

Firefighters held a rally to coincide with a fire authority budget setting meeting

A fire service has proposed halting planned job cuts during a meeting which attracted a protest rally.

The Avon Fire Authority planned to cut 40 full time firefighter posts and to reduce engine crews from five to four firefighters.

Firefighters protested at an authority budget setting meeting in Bristol earlier.

Chief fire officer Simon Shilton said afterwards he could not "ignore" a budget deficit.

Mr Shilton said in October that the proposed cuts would "not compromise firefighter safety".

He added there would be no fire station reductions and the majority of the posts to be lost were expected to come from closing jobs after retirements.

The FBU had condemned the cuts as "dangerous and irresponsible".

A 2023 report found the Avon Fire and Rescue Service to be "inadequate" at responding to fires and other emergencies.

The rally was moved to a car park after firefighters were told they could not gather directly outside the meeting

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: "Avon Fire Authority has made the right decision to listen to the concerns of the frontline and halt plans to cut 40 firefighter posts.

"This follows months of campaigning by FBU members.

"Today's rally showed the impact of firefighters and the public standing together against cuts."

The proposal made at the meeting was to adjust the savings plan to reduce the amount of savings required in the first year.

However, this would have consequences and significantly impact other areas of the organisation, Mr Shilton said.

Deficit of £4m

Mr Shilton said after the meeting: "Moving money around in this way simply means that it must be taken from elsewhere.

"In an ideal world, we would not have to make these difficult decisions, but unfortunately the harsh reality is that we must take the funding we have and find innovative ways to utilise the resources available to us.

"Following on from the budget statement on local authority funding, we have a deficit of over £4m over the course of the medium-term financial plan.

"To ignore the deficit is not an option I have available to consider.

"What we can do is start to introduce our savings and efficiencies more gradually, but we still have significant savings to find.

"Any alternative options in finding such efficiencies are far worse and will have a significant impact on our attendance times and service delivery to our communities."

The proposal will be discussed in a meeting on 20 March.