More Bleak news for the Emergency Services
"Fire authorities will have £600 million less to spend on keeping the public safe from harm in five years compared to 2011/12, according to a new report published today.
The stark warning comes from the Local Government Association (LGA) which says that the fire service will have to undergo major reforms if the service is to be sustained.
In the 'Fire future funding report', the LGA, which represents the 46 fire authorities in England, warns that funding for community prevention schemes is likely to suffer the most from budget cuts.
Funding reductions mean that less money will be available to the fire service for work such as testing smoke alarms as well as advising residents on safety measures and how to prevent fires.
However, research shows that over the past decade, as the amount of money spent on prevention work has increased, the number of fires and fatalities has fallen significantly.
Youth education programmes, for example, are estimated to achieve savings of £1.85 for every £1 spent by helping to reduce the number of fires set deliberately.
The warning comes as the fire industry meets for its annual conference in Brighton. Nearly 300 fire industry experts are coming together to debate the future of the service in the face of significant budget cuts....cont."