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The Service
Budget, accounts and regulations...
We want to be the best fire and rescue service in the country and make life safer for everyone by reducing risks in our local communities.
We want to make improvements in five priority areas:
All of our aims and objectives fit into these priority areas, so that our efforts are concentrated on the most important issues.
Our values are important as they help us to become an excellent organisation and to lead by example. All of our staff help us to achieve our priorities and objectives. The service they provide is highly professional and helps to make your life safer.
If you want to know more about our plans for the next three years please take a look at our latest Fire and Rescue Service Plan. You can see it on our website: www.hantsfire.gov.uk/plan. Or you can call us on 023 8064 4000.
Our achievements this year move us closer to becoming the best fire and rescue service in the country.
Our people are our most important asset, and in recognition of their commitment and contribution to the services we deliver, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has been an Investors in People accredited organisation since 2007. In December 2010, following a comprehensive review, the Service achieved further success resulting in the Investors in People silver award. This places us in the top 5% of recognised organisations in the UK.
Our Co-responder team has undergone a successful expansion this past year with the addition of four new stations, taking the total to 18 that offer this valuable service. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and South Central Ambulance Service have been working in partnership to deliver a Co-responder scheme in the county for a number of years. With these additional stations, the scheme is widening its base and further contributing to our vision to make life safer.
In December 2010, we introduced a new specialist unit to deal with small fires in Southampton. The Small Fires Vehicle will be on-call 24 hours a day to respond to small fires and antisocial fire-related incidents, freeing up major appliances to be used where they are needed most, at life-threatening incidents such as house and property fires.
In early September 2010, we hosted the largest European search and rescue exercise ever undertaken. Exercise Orion simulated an earthquake striking the UK and was funded through a European Union grant. The exercise was a huge success and will improve our management of catastrophic major incidents should one occur in the future.
The budget for 2011/12 is £68.7 million. This is 0.8% more than the equivalent budget last year with most of the increase arising from the cost of inflation.
The Authority is committed to keeping Council Tax increases as low as possible so we constantly review how our services are delivered to make them more efficient and reduce pressure on Council Tax.
Here is how we arrived at our budget for the year ahead:
| Detail | £'000 |
|---|---|
| Budget for 2010/11 | 68,160 |
| Inflation | 616 |
| Efficiency improvements | -585 |
| Council Tax freeze grant | -973 |
| Increase in reserves | 1,456 |
| Budget for 2011/12 | 68,674 |
| Which is financed by: | |
| National business rates | 22,406 |
| Government grant | 6,926 |
| Surplus on collection funds | 441 |
| Balance from Council Tax | 38,901 |
We are pleased to tell you we are able to freeze our part of the Council Tax this year. This is due to efficiency measures we have put in place, and a Council Tax freeze grant from the Government. It is important that you know what this means in cash terms. For a Band D property the cost of your fire and rescue service is just £1.18 per week, which is the same as last year.
The table below shows you exactly how much you will pay for your fire and rescue service in 2011/12.
| Band | Cost |
|---|---|
| Band A | £40.92 |
| Band B | £47.74 |
| Band C | £54.56 |
| Band D | £61.38 |
| Band E | £75.02 |
| Band F | £88.66 |
| Band G | £102.30 |
| Band H | £122.76 |
Full budget details and information about how your Council Tax is spent are available on our website: www.hantsfire.gov.uk/budget. If you have any questions, please either call us on 023 8062 6867 or email finance@hantsfire.gov.uk.
Over 75% of our budget is spent on employing staff - our most valuable resource. The remainder is spent on essential supplies and services, transport, property and information and communications technology, as well as funding our capital programmes.
Every year we spend about £2.5 million on our vehicle replacement programme, to ensure we have a modern, well-maintained fleet of vehicles. We invest £500,000 in improvements to our buildings and the new fire station at Winchester will be completed in 2011.
| Detail | £'000 |
|---|---|
| Preventing incidents | 4,497 |
| Protecting life and property | 2,280 |
| Responding to emergencies | 59,113 |
| Capital financing costs | 1,888 |
| Council Tax freeze grant | -973 |
| Contribution to reserves | 1,869 |
| Total | 68,674 |
