Report of the East Sussex Fire Authority

Noted · Received for information; no decision followed.

This report summarises a meeting of the East Sussex Fire Authority held at County Hall, Lewes, on 4 September 2025. p1p3

Budget monitoring at month 4 forecast a net revenue underspend of £174,000, which meant a planned £512,000 drawdown from the General Reserve was not required. p5

On financial planning for 2026/27 onwards, modelling from the National Fire Chiefs Council indicated the Authority's Settlement Funding Assessment would fall by £1.6m over three years, with savings of between £3.157m and £4.587m needed by 2028/29 depending on the level of precept set. p10

The Authority considered a report on starting a public consultation on the draft Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2025-30, the document describing how the Service plans to keep people in the area safe over the next five years. p13

A consultation and communication plan set out an 8-week consultation from 5 September 2025, run by the independent provider Opinion Research Services, with the final draft of the CRMP due back before the Fire Authority on 12 February 2026. p17p19

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• p1EAST SUSSEX FIRE AUTHORITY Report of a meeting of the East Sussex Fire Authority held at County Hall, St. Anne’s Crescent, Lewes BN7 1UE at 10:30 hours on Thursday, 4 September 2025.
• p3The agenda and non-confidential reports can be read on the East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s website at http://www.esfrs.org/about-us/east-sussex-fire-authority/fire-authority-meetings/ A brief synopsis and the decisions relating to key items is set out below.
• p51.1 The Fire Authority received a report presenting the findings of month 4 monitoring undertaken on the Revenue and Capital Budget 2025/26 – 2029/30. The report set out a forecast net revenue underspend to the sum of £174,000 resulting from a combination of underspends and pressures across the Service as set out in the report. Due to the overall underspend position, there was no requirement to draw down £512,000 from the General Reserve as had been planned. Staffing and overtime forecasts were reviewed as part of the budget monitoring process, but it remained difficult to predict with certainty overtime and on-call costs and further movement could occur through the year.
• p102.2 Nationally the sector remained reliant on significant one-off funding for investment in protection services and payment of employer’s pension contributions, there had been no confirmation from Government that these would continue, but the working assumption was that they would, on a cash flat basis. The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement was expected in December 2025, modelling from the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) indicated that our Settlement Funding Assessment would reduce by in excess of 3% per year, a total loss of 9.9% or £1.6m over the three-year period. This was a material and unacceptable reduction in funding, the equivalent of twenty-five wholetime firefighter roles. The budget gap would be dependent on the level of precept set by the Authority with savings required by 2028/29 of between £3.157m (£5) and £4.587m (3%). The Authority would need to continue to identify unavoidable pressures, growth bids, and savings sufficient to balance the budget in 2026/27 and beyond, but it was clear that efficiencies, low impact savings, and reprioritisation of capital investment plans alone would be insufficient. Savings on the scale of the modelling would inevitably mean that the Authority will have to consider reducing its community offer and the impact this would have on the CRMP 2025-30.
• p133.1 The Fire Authority considered a report seeking approval to commence a public consultation on the draft Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2025-30. The CRMP is the key planning document describing how the Service plans keep residents, and those who work in or travel through the area, safe over the next five years. It describes the main risks to our communities and how the Service proposes to use available resources efficiently to reduce or mitigate those risks. The draft CRMP contains proposals which ensure continuous improvement in how the Service delivers across East Sussex and Brighton & Hove. 3.2
• p174.1 The Fire Authority considered a report presenting the Consultation and Communication Plan for the forthcoming Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2025-30 for approval. The consultation and communications plan had been shaped in accordance with national requirements and guided by the Gunning principles (four legal tests for public consultation), the ESFRS Communications, Engagement & Consultation Strategy 2024-27, the NFCC CRMP Strategic Framework and the Fire Standards Board guidance on CRMP. The consultation would be undertaken by an independent consultation service provider Opinion Research Services (ORS) and consisted of the following areas:
• p19The consultation would be open for 8 weeks, from 5 September 2025, after which the results would be evaluated by ORS and used to refine the draft CRMP. Once updated the final draft would return before the Fire Authority at its meeting on 12 February 2026 for consideration and approval.