Households to pay more towards fire service with bills to rise by three per cent

Members of the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority met on February 19 to vote on the 2024/25 budget and agreed to increase its share of council tax by 2.99 per cent – the maximum allowed by the government.

Householders in a band D property currently pay £77.58 per year for the service, which will rise to £82.58 per year from April.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (SYFRS) faces a £3m deficit in the coming financial year due to increased costs of goods, services, fuel, energy and staff wage increases.

Of the £64m needed to run the service, £33m will be funded by the government, and the remainder by council tax.

The increase will raise £1.8million for the service’s annual budget – but rising costs mean at least £4m extra will be required.

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The budget also proposes loans to fund capital projects such as station refurbishments and replacement vehicles.

Linda Haigh, finance and procurement director for SYFRS, told the meeting that the service’s funding has ‘increased less than inflation’.

Dr Alan Billing, South Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner, agreed with the increase and told the meeting: “Public finances are in a bad place, [the government] want to fund tax cuts. You can’t fund tax cuts and protect public services.

“There’s going to be a squeeze on certain departments. The unprotected departments that we lie in, the police and fire – we’ve got to expect a financial situation that is either worsening or at least no better.”