Dozens of firefighters’ jobs are at risk from government cuts, East Sussex Fire Authority warned.
The fire authority said that as many as 25 full-time jobs could be scrapped across East Sussex and Brighton and Hove.
It blamed the government’s “fair funding” review which, it said, could leave the fire service millions of pounds worse off.
It said that the switch to a directly elected mayor of Sussex – with the mayor replacing the fire authority – merely added to the uncertainties.
East Sussex Fire Authority issued a statement in response to a press release by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).
It said: “We fully support the National Fire Chiefs Council’s position in response to the ‘fair funding’ review consultation and also urge the government to protect real-terms funding for the fire and rescue service.
“We are increasingly concerned that year-on-year reductions in funding threaten the service we provide our communities.
“Should the recent outcomes of the ‘fair funding’ review be implemented, modelling suggests East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service would see a further funding reduction over the three-year period of £1.6 million or the equivalent of 25 wholetime firefighter roles.
“We understand the government’s proposals assume that the £5 precept flexibility all authorities had for 2025-26 would be rolled forward for the three-year settlement.
“We believe the NFCC are right to urge the government not to rely on local increases in council tax to offset cuts.
“Even if this authority were minded to approve a £5 increase each year, when other impacts are factored in, we estimate that this would still leave this authority with a funding gap of £3.2 million by the end of the settlement period.
“This is the equivalent of 51 wholetime firefighter roles, nearly 15 per cent of our wholetime workforce.
“We remain very concerned that the ongoing significant cuts to government grant funding are not being addressed and that fire and rescue has become the forgotten emergency service.
“The uncertainty over fire funding is set to increase as Sussex and Brighton move under a mayoral model, under which the mayor will become the fire authority.
“We understand that funding for fire will not be ring-fenced as it is for policing.
“The sector has received no capital funding since 2014-15. This has reduced our ability to ensure that our stations are suitable for our increasingly diverse workforce, threatens our work to reduce the risk of contaminants in the workplace and ensure our fleet of fire appliances and equipment is fit for purpose.
“Without investment to reverse the previous funding cuts, balancing the authority’s budget would inevitably lead to potentially dangerous reductions in our community offer.
“Locally, we have had to make savings of £11.9 million since 2010-11 yet demand on fire and rescue services is going up while firefighter numbers are falling.
“Additionally, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service is one of the services set to lose out disproportionately due to the proposal to link funding to population growth, without taking other risk factors – such as pockets of high deprivation and the second highest number (following London) of high-and-medium rise buildings in the country – into account.
“Standalone fire and rescue authorities, such as East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, are facing £102 million real-terms cuts due to government grant reductions, according to modelling commissioned by the National Fire Chiefs Council.
“Nationally, this amount is equivalent to the loss of 1,500 wholetime equivalent firefighters, with this figure set to rise to as many as 2,300 once London and the county services are factored in.
“We agree with the NFCC that to move forward with these proposals as they stand would be incomprehensible and are seeking a fair settlement that will protect the vital emergency services we provide to our community.”
