County's fire authority to discuss precept
The county’s fire brigade has spent less than two thirds of the government grant it received to deal with Covid-19 and the pandemic itself has brought some savings, a report says.
Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority finance head Joanne Coadey and treasurer James Walton write that £270,000 out of the £446,000 handout had been spent by the end of December, with “staffing costs” the largest spending area.
They add that “minimal movement and interrupted training” has reduced the money the brigade is spending in some areas.
Ms Coadey and Mr Walton recommend the fire authority’s annual precept – the charge added to council tax bills that helps fund Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service – rises by just under two per cent, or just over £2 in band-D homes, in 2021-22. They say this is partly to mitigate the impact coronavirus has had on councils’ tax collection rates.
In 2020-21, the fire authority precept for a band-D home in either the Shropshire Council or Telford and Wrekin Council area stood at £102.25. The proposed 1.99 per cent increase would take this to £104.28.
In a report, due to go before the fire authority’s Strategy and Resources Committee tomorrow, Ms Coadey and Ms Walton write: “The global pandemic has had a major effect on financial planning for the authority.”
In the short term, it has had to ensure “delays in cash flow did not affect the day-to-day operation of the service”, they say.
In the medium term, “mitigating the immediate impact on funding streams such as council tax and collection fund income, as more households were supported” and “anticipating how these funding streams will change” will impact on financial planning.
In spring and summer last year the government paid two rounds of emergency grants to public authorities to help them continue their work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The fire authority received a total of £446,000 in grant and has been reporting expenditure to the Home Office via the National Fire Chief Council returns,” Ms Coadey and Ms Walton write.
Reports previously seen by the committee showed Shropshire’s brigade had spent £171,000 by the end of July and £229,000 by October.
Ms Coadey’s and Mr Walton’s latest financial performance update report says £270,000 had been spent by the new year.
Of this, “staffing costs” accounted for £94,000, with £70,000 spent on personal protective equipment, £50,000 on cleaning and decontamination supplies and other expenses – such as equipment or alterations – costing £56,000.
“In addition, some savings have been identified due to the minimal movement and interrupted training of staff during nine months of the year and, as they year progresses, further savings have been recorded,” they add.