Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service risk review proposes cutting jobs

Deputy chief fire officer Neil Odin said the changes were about improving services

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has proposed cutting 225 jobs to help make up for a £12m funding gap.

The authority's "risk review" suggests cutting full-time and retained posts through natural wastage, though all stations will remain open. It has a workforce of about 1,200.

The service, which has an annual budget of £65m, faces a £12m deficit over the next four years.

The Fire Brigades Union has raised safety concerns regarding the plans.

The review states that reducing immediate response firefighters from 576 to 488 and on-call firefighters from 656 to 519 will make the service "more efficient and streamlined".

"Savings in personnel will achieve the necessary financial savings without any frontline compulsory redundancies or fire station closures," it adds.

The changes would make a £5m dent in the deficit.

An increase in council tax is also considered in the proposals.

Gary Jackson of the Fire Brigades Union said 999 callers would not always get a full response

Gary Jackson, secretary of Hampshire Fire Brigades Union, said: "If these proposals go through, when the [general public] dials 999 in some places they will not get a fire engine with a full crew able to deal with pretty much any emergency that's thrown at them as an initial response.

"They possibly will get two firefighters in a van waiting for other resources before they can make an intervention."

Neil Odin, deputy chief fire officer at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the changes were about improving services.

He added: "[It's] part of our psyche, and part of our culture, so these changes are really being brought about because of the necessity to improve, but also because of the financial imperative to reshape our finances.

"Hampshire's a changing place… focussing on the needs of our community is what the risk review has done and these proposals, should the authority agree to the consultation, will really focus on the things we need to do: changing technology on the frontline and really focussing on restaffing our fire stations in a way which is appropriate."

The authority will decide whether the proposals are ready to go out for public consultation on 9 September.