County Council elections matter because public safety matters

Lives & property at increased risk

There are those who try to defend the deterioration in our fire & rescue service by suggesting we no longer need the same resources. I think the people who suffered in these very recent incidents might disagree. 

Only this week, one Reform County Councillor, Stuart Barclay, who defected from the Conservatives, claimed that we don't need the same resources because "incidents are at a record low". Not only a false claim, but fundamentally flawed thinking. The number of incidents has never been a factor in determining fire service resources.    

The relevant factors are to ensure that at any time, there can be a quick and effective response to any emergency, anywhere in West Sussex, that when additional or specialist resources are needed they arrive quickly, and that when several incidents occur at the same time they can all be dealt with effectively.

There are more incidents, not less:

1975 - 28 fire stations and 46 frontline fire engines

 for an average of under 100 emergencies a week.

2025 - 24 fire stations and 35 frontline fire engines 

for an average of over 170 emergencies a week.

To make matters worse, up to two thirds of those 35 remaining frontline fire engines can be without enough firefighters to crew them. This all results in longer response times, which results in greater risk to lives and property.

The Conservatives have seriously neglected our fire & rescue service

Why voting on Thursday matters for the fire & rescue service

These County Council elections will determine who manages our fire & rescue service for the next two years, and who prepares it for the expected amalgamation with East Sussex. If we want an effective fire & rescue service for the future we have to elect the right County Councillors.

There are those who are misleading voters by suggesting a vote for them will help remove the current Government. It won't, the Government has a substantial majority so, like it or not, Labour will be in Government until the next general election in 2029. 

Vote in the right people now and there is hope for a better fire & rescue service. 

Vote in the wrong people and there will be more cuts, more deterioration, and more risk for us all.

Who are the right people? 

It certainly isn't the Conservatives, as the deterioration of our fire & rescue service rests squarely with them. It isn't Reform, they have a lot of Conservative defectors standing, plus many more unknown candidates with no record of public service. The only local comments from Reform suggest that they are content with a less effective fire & rescue service, so they may well make further cuts.

That leaves Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Independent candidates. I am satisfied that those political parties understand the problems of an under-resourced fire & rescue service, and it was Labour and Liberal Democrat County Councillors who fought the cuts and have supported the service and firefighters. The Independent candidates vary, with some supportive and others more in tune with Conservative cuts.

Choosing a candidate to oust the Conservatives becomes a little more difficult, as core support for different parties varies in different parts of the County. An indication of who that might be could be if that party has an MP in the area, or if they already run borough or district councils in your local area. Another is if they keep in regular touch with residents via leaflets, social media, and canvassing, or do you only hear from them at election time?

From my research of policies, and discussions with different political parties, I do not believe our fire & rescue service will be safe in the hands of the Conservatives or Reform.

Your vote matters on May 7th

If you value an effective fire and rescue service and support our firefighters, then please choose Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrat, or Independent candidates who do want to provide an effective fire & rescue service.

More dangerous cuts on the way

I have been receiving worrying reports of more cuts next year. Now it is perfectly true that the root cause of the cuts is the Government, who happily withdraw large amounts of funding from local authorities with no consideration of the consequences. However, West Sussex County Council’s leadership cannot escape some of the blame. They should have been shouting from the roof tops about the damaging effect of cuts, but for a long time they stayed silent. Recent weak criticism by the Council Leader of some Government policies is too little, too late.

In a report on the Council’s Financial Strategy, the Director of Finance said, “This is the most challenging Financial Strategy the County has ever faced, with significant demand pressures faced, on-going significant reductions in grant support from Government and uncertainty over other funding streams and the future funding system for local authorities.” It also seems that some Council services are likely to overspend this year. In addition, many of the savings forecast to come from this year’s cuts, and agreed only in February, may not be realised, thus worsening the overall position.

With costs rising as a result of such things as the weaker pound and the improvement of dreadfully low pay in the care sector, the situation can only get worse. It is also reported that West Sussex receives the lowest school funding level per pupil in the country, amounting to some £200 million less than many London boroughs. School results are already below average in West Sussex, so further cut backs in schools will do nothing to improve results.

There have been suggestions that our Fire & Rescue Service may have to save more than £2 million next year. Last year’s cuts of £1.6 million resulted in the loss of five frontline fire engines. Previous cuts saw the closure of three fire stations and the loss of six fire engines. The often quoted ‘back office’ areas, where it is claimed that cuts can be made without affecting the service, have been squeezed dry, so it is difficult to see how any cuts can be made without seriously affecting frontline response.

The cuts made so far have already seen an increase in response times, in some cases significant increases. Any further cuts to staffing and frontline fire engines will be disastrous, but there is clearly a danger that they will see this as their only option. Could Lancing and East Preston be closed? Might they look again at that illegal crewing system that involves continuous duty, part on station, part on call. Might they go down the route of Hampshire and North Yorkshire and use inadequately crewed vehicles to replace properly crewed fire engines? I sincerely hope none of these will be considered.

They should first shout long and hard at Government and be honest with MP’s, instead of pretending cuts are not damaging. Short sighted cuts to the fire & rescue service do not save the country money. The costs arising from fires and other emergencies, such as property damage, loss of business and social care, all increase and together outweigh any savings. If that fails, the Council need to consider using some of their reserves to soften the blow, and they really must resurrect the plan to merge East & West Sussex Fire & Rescue Services. That may be the only way to save money with minimum effect on frontline service.

With County Council elections next May, perhaps now is the time to start lobbying Councillors to get their finger out and campaign to stop the finance reductions. With most West Sussex County Councillors being in the same political party as the Government, surely they can bring some pressure to bear. I also hope to see Councillors and candidates from other parties regularly speaking out on these issues.