Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy has today set out his proposals for
the council tax precepts that go towards funding fire services in
Greater Manchester. Final recommendations across all budgets will
be considered for approval at the special budget GMCA meeting on
7 February 2025.
The majority of homes in Greater Manchester fall within Bands A
and B. The proposal is for a £3.89 increase in the fire precept
(£0.32 a month) for a Band B property, which equates to £5 annual
increase (£0.41 a month) for a Band D property.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, , said: “I don't make
this proposal lightly. I know every pound counts for people in
Greater Manchester, especially in the current climate. But the
truth is that without this increase to the precept, we will not
be able to maintain the improvements we've seen in our fire and
rescue service in our region.
“We need to see sustainable funding for fire and rescue services
in the Government's spending review this summer and with flooding
becoming more common, response to flooding events should be made
a statutory responsibility, with the necessary funding provided
to invest in this area.
“Last year, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service was judged
to be the one of the UK's best performing services in the country
as a result of improvements across culture and leadership, and
prevention and protection.
“I've kept my commitment to keeping firefighter numbers higher
than when I first took office and we're expanding, adding fire
engines to our fleet to keep up with the growing city region.”
Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities, , said: “Fire and other
services across Greater Manchester are facing continued budget
pressures, and the funding raised through these precepts is
vital.
“We are enormously proud of our Fire and Rescue Service and the
improvements made under the leadership of Chief Fire Officer,
Dave Russel. We more than upheld the Mayor's commitments on fire
engine and firefighter numbers. We have 1222 firefighters in
Greater Manchester today, up from 1121 in 2017, and this will
increase further to 1246 over the coming year. We have also
increased our fire engine fleet, with an additional engine
launched in Manchester in December.
“Every penny we increase these precepts by is considered
carefully – we take this responsibility very seriously. We
recently launched a public consultation on our draft Fire Plan
for 2025 to 2029, which has been developed following engagement
with 3,800 residents, and it is vital we deliver the service that
the people or Greater Manchester have told us they want, and that
they deserve.”
Fire precept
In its latest His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire
and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection published in March 2023,
GMFRS was revealed as the most improved and one of best
performing fire and rescue services in the country. The
inspectorate graded GMFRS to be “Good” in 10 of its 11 inspection
areas.
The report praised GMFRS for keeping people safe and secure from
fires and commended the way it has improved different
capabilities including its terror attack response capacity. It
also praised how GMFRS has prioritised cultural improvements,
putting culture and values at the heart of everything it does,
driven by the creation of a ‘culture first' board and staff
sounding panel.
Following a review of fire cover in 2023, it was announced that
two further fire engines would go on the run to bolster cover
across the rapidly developing city-region and increase capacity
for fire safety activities. GMFRS added an extra fire engine –
it's 51st – into the city centre in December, with
plans to add a 52nd this year.
Significant pressure is being placed on the Service in a number
of areas. These include the large-scale inspection and oversight
of buildings that need remediation in response to the findings
from the Grenfell Tower fire, and the impact of the climate
emergency, which is causing larger, more prolonged incidents,
such as wide-area flooding.
The Mayor pledged to maintain firefighter numbers above the 1121
that were in post in 2017. We now have 1222 firefighters in
Greater Manchester, which will increase again to 1246 over the
coming year. The Mayor also pledged not to reduce the number of
fire engines below 50, a commitment that has been maintained
despite budgetary pressures.
You can also have your say on the future direction of GMFRS by
completing a short online survey as part of the Fire Plan 2025-29
public consultation, which is open until 10th March
gmconsult.org/gmfrs/fire-plan/
