Fire service enjoys a £6m financial boost

LOWER-THAN-PREDICTED pay rises and an unexpected windfall have helped give the Devon & Somerset fire service a £6 million boost.

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As part of its budget for last year, the service set aside cash for an expected pay rise for fire crews. However this was lower than predicted, meaning a £700,000 saving.

Pay is agreed nationally and Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue has no say on the level set.

The service also received an unexpected £1 million from a refund from its radio system provider.

The Competition and Markets Authority had claimed that Motorola was charging too much because of its “virtually unconstrained monopoly” on communications network services for UK emergency services.

Elsewhere, the challenges recruiting for the service's office-based roles saved around £1 million compared to expectations, and it saved a further £1 million on the use of on-call firefighters.