Agenda item

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Carolyn Godfrey and Maggie Rae Corporate Directors together with a report from Councillor Chris Devine in his capacity as chairman of the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority

The draft minute of Council on this subject dated 21 October can be found from page 14 of this Summons.

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet member for Finance presented a report which sought confirmation of the Council’s position on the locally led proposed

combination of the Dorset and the Wiltshire & Swindon Fire Authorities and

creation of a Combined Fire and Rescue Authority for Wiltshire and Dorset.

This followed the Council’s decision from its last meeting of Council held on 21 October 2014, where it had sought assurances on a number of key areas and therefore preferred not to commit to any option until such time as the issues had been resolved. The key areas of concern were as follows:

·           How would the funding gap be bridged?

•     Were there further savings that could be made in collaboration with

      other public bodies?

•     How would the equalisation of precepts be dealt with and what the

      impact would be on Wiltshire residents.

•     How it could be assured that key local decisions were not prejudiced by

      being out voted by the other constituent authorities?

At the Chairman’s invitation, Councillor Chris Devine in his capacity as Chairman of the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority addressed Council.  In his presentation, Councillor Devine gave the following in addressing the specific concerns of the Council, gave the following assurances:

•      Revised tax base increases would mean that full financial solvency would be achieved from 2015-2020

•      Improved financial position of the Fire Authority since that reported in October 2014

•      The funding gap would be fully bridged under best and worst case scenarios with revised tax base increase from 1% to 2.1% in Wiltshire and 0.2% to 1.5% in Dorset

•      We can set a balanced budget beyond 18/19 without the need to raise council tax beyond referendum limits.

•      Improved tax base would mean equalization would be possible without the need to raise precept levels excessively

•      The Fire Authority would continue to discuss with DCLG the possibility of an Alternative Notional Amount (ANA) to seek to achieve equalisation on day one to offset future uncertainty around grant reductions, further improve its financial forecast and therefore further protect front line services

•         Dorset Fire Authority had supported democratic equalisation

•         Both Fire Authorities had agreed 15 members each

•         Governance Review April 2018

•         Wiltshire Council would have the most members.

CouncillorTonge presented a report on the position to date together with a submission from the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority responding to the Council’s concerns. The Council had submitted its response to the consultation based on its decision at its last meeting. DCLG had confirmed that it would accept a further response from the Council following this meeting clarifying its position in the light of the additional information provided by the

Fire Authority.

Accordingly, Council was asked to consider and confirm its position in light of the information presented and the presentation and reassurances given by the Chairman of the Fire Authority.

In consideration of the assurances given by the Fire Authority, Councillor Tonge moved the proposal contained in the report presented to support the locally led proposal to create a combined fire authority covering Dorset and Wiltshire and Swindon and to advise the DCLG accordingly and this was duly seconded by the Leader.

The Chairman opened the debate initially to Group Leaders. The Leader explained that far from trying to stop the merger, she had considered it imperative to seek assurances on the key areas highlighted on a matter of such importance which affected the County’s residents. Having received the positive assurances from the Fire Authority and the good work provided by Council officers, she wished the Fire Authority well in the future.

Councillor Jon Hubbard commented that whilst the need for an amalgamation was in a way unfortunate, it was absolutely the right approach to protect the service and maintain the high level of fire cover enjoyed by the County. He therefore supported the proposal.

Councillors Ernie Clark and Ricky Rogers also voiced their support for the proposal.

The debate was opened to other members during which there was general support for the proposal. In response to a question, Councillor Devine confirmed that the new merged authority would commence from 1 April 2016 subject to the timetabling of the relevant legislation.

On being put to the vote, it was

Resolved:

That the Council supports the report from the Chairman of Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority and instructs Officers to submit a response to the DCLG supporting the locally led proposal to create a combined fire authority covering Dorset and Wiltshire and Swindon. The DCLG response will be made by close of business on 24February 2015.