West Yorkshire is on target to save over £25m by next April

West Yorkshire's fire authority made efficiencies of £2.9m. in 2009/10, bringing the total since 2005/6 to £20m. Forecast savings in the present year are likely to be £5.2m., thanks mainly to a streamlined system for maintaining crewing numbers on stations, low levels of ill health retirements and a reduction in insurance premiums.

Councillor Andrea McKenna, who chairs the authority’s finance committee, explained that the savings did not represent cash hoarded away for a rainy day, or money denied to frontline services. “The Government demands that any savings we identify as efficiencies must not affect the quality of what we do. In fact, without the changes we would not have been able to invest so heavily in service improvements such as fire prevention and better training.”

Councillor McKenna said she hoped that when ministers sat down to decide local government budget targets in the coming months they would take note of those authorities which were already lean, efficient and top performers. “It would be a nonsense if those organisations already giving the best service and value for money were hit to the same degree as those with a bloated bureaucracy and flabby financial management.” she added.

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