A passionate open letter to the Government from County Durham and Darlington's Fire Chief

Dear Mr Gove,

I write to you as someone who comes from a family with the illustrious traditions of County Durham and Darington Fire and Rescue Service in its blood.

My father, Eddie, was a dedicated firefighter with the service for 32 years. I was honoured to follow in his footsteps, and it was one of the proudest moments of my life to become County Durham and Darlington’s Chief Fire Officer seven-and-a-half years ago. Now, my son, Alex, has become the third generation of my family to become a firefighter on his home patch, and I am thrilled by the career path he has chosen.

However, as I prepare to retire in January after a career spanning 30 years, I have never felt more fearful for the future of the highly respected and professional service that I love.

That’s because we have been placed in a perilous position by a funding crisis that threatens to cost lives unless the Government – led by a soon-to-be-appointed new Prime Minister – acts responsibly.

When inflation is taken into account, the stark reality is that CDDFRS has lost in the region of £10m in government funding over the past 12 years.

• LIVES AT RISK AMID FUNDING CRISIS

In addition, the capital funding grant we once had has been removed by stealth. Up to 2014-2015, it gave us £1.3m-a-year to spend on replacement fire appliances or new stations. That pot is no longer there. Instead, those costs must be met from the revenue budget made up of council tax revenue, the Government grant, and business rates.

And yet our hands are tied by the lack of flexibility we are allowed when it comes to using council tax to raise much-needed additional funds. The North-East is disproportionately impacted by the council tax referendum limit due to the number of properties in Band A and B across the area. This, together with the high level of deprivation, means that many residents are either exempt or qualify for discounts to their council tax bills.

Currently, we are limited to a two per cent increase on Band D properties that would bring in £380,000 in additional income. However, inflation rising to 10 per cent adds a £750,000 deficit to finances that are already down to the bone, and that is before we consider pay pressures.

We are seeking the flexibility on the council tax referendum limit to allow a £5 increase on Band D council tax for all standalone fire and rescue authorities. That would raise around £30m for those authorities over and above the standard two per cent increase, and yet it would cost taxpayers just 10 pence per week. That, in our passionate view, is a small price to pay for public safety.

The depth of this crisis comes at a time when we are seeing an increase in demand related to climate change, especially around wildfires, while the North-East has the highest levels of arson and deliberate fires of any region in the country.

Last year, we received more than 18,000 calls into our control room and dealt with more than 8,000 emergencies. We delivered nearly 20,000 Home Fire Safety Checks and – in the midst of the pandemic – our firefighters rose to the challenge by administering more than 55,000 vaccinations.

We were proud to be named UK Fire and Rescue Service of the Year at the Public Sector Transformation Awards.

Our staff have adapted in every way possible, showing admirable flexibility alongside dedication and courage. As well as putting their own lives on the line in response to emergencies, they have raised the bar higher than ever before on fire prevention.

My priority has always been to protect frontline posts, but that will no longer be possible under present funding levels. We are looking at the unavoidable loss of between 15 and 50 firefighters and that will have serious consequences for the cover we can provide.

It is with immense pride that three generations of my family have served County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service for more than six decades. It is my sincere hope that in 60 years from now, it will still be the highly respected and professional operation it is today – but it breaks my heart to admit I can no longer be confident that will be the case.

As I approach the end of my career as a firefighter, I have a final call to make: “This is an emergency – and we need an urgent response before it is too late.”

Yours sincerely,

Stuart Errington, Chief Fire Officer of County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service

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