South Yorkshire Fire Service's share of council tax to rise by maximum

It costs about £64m to run South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, of which about half comes from council tax

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's share of council tax is to rise by the maximum amount allowed by government in the next financial year.

The county's fire and rescue authority voted on Monday for a 2.99% rise in the fire service element of council tax.

As a result, those in a band D property will pay £82.58 a year for the service in 2024-25, which is a rise of £5.

It means an extra £1.8m will be raised for the fire service, but its costs are expected to go up by at least £4m.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue faces a £3m deficit in the coming financial year due to increased costs of goods, services, fuel, energy and staff wage increases, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Of the £64m needed to run the service, about £33m will be funded by the government, while much of the remainder will come from the fire service's council tax "precept".

The fire and rescue authority's budget also proposes loans to fund capital projects such as station refurbishments and replacement vehicles.

'Squeeze on departments'

Linda Haigh, finance and procurement director for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, told the meeting: "Our total funding has increased less than inflation.

"We have removed from the budget…£2.6m worth of efficiencies."

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner, agreed with the increase.

He told the meeting: "We just have to prudentially assume…that we're not going to get the grants in real terms that will enable us to keep pace with inflation.

"Public finances are in a bad place, [the government] want to fund tax cuts. You can't fund tax cuts and protect public services.

"There's going to be a squeeze on certain departments. The unprotected departments that we lie in - the police and fire - we've got to expect a financial situation that is either worsening or at least no better."