Cashable and Non-Cashable Savings
The Corporate Plan and the Safety and Wellbeing Plan (links provided above) detail a number of cashable and non-cashable savings that have arisen over recent years and others that are expected in the future. The Corporate Plan highlights that over the last six years the Authority has saved approximately £17m, through a combination of pay and non-pay savings. The current forecast is that a further £8m of savings will be required between 2016/17 and 2019/20. So the challenge is to ensure that these savings are achieved, whilst still providing a high-quality and effective service. Not all projects deliver cashable savings, but in some cases the benefit to the community will far outweigh any cashable saving that could be achieved, such as the ongoing work by fire crews to support the South East Coast Ambulance Service in responding to medical emergencies. The Authority is proactive in progressing opportunities to collaborate with a variety of partner agencies, providing that there is a benefit for the local community.
The savings already achieved in 2015/16 and those planned for the current and future years are detailed in the table below.
| Cashable Savings / Efficiency Assumptions (All figures are £000 unless stated) |
2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reduction in employer contributions arising from the changes in the Firefighter CARE Pension Scheme |
/ | 426 | / | / | / |
| Changes to operational crewing arrangements / duty systems | 869 | 986 | 724 | 375 | 0 |
| Other operational staff savings | 762 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-operational staff savings | 505 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Use of reserves for smoothing impact | 644 | 770 | 70 | -110 | -60 |
| Collaboration and Efficiency initiatives | 0 | 354 | 147 | 288 | 60 |
| Savings from a range of non-pay budgets | 591 | 926 | 486 | 254 | 0 |
| Reduced funding for Investment and Capital assets | 0 | 0 | 2,093 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3,371 | 3,540 | 3,520 | 807 | 0 |
| Forecast Net Position (surplus/(deficit) after efficiency savings | 547 | 683 | 2,183 | 54 | (854) |
The largest proportion of the savings arise from staffing changes, which are expected to arise as a result of a combination of staff either leaving or retiring from the organisation plus various changes in crewing arrangements. Flexible rostering, for example, allows the Authority to maintain the same service to the public, but with fewer firefighters based at fire stations. Flexible rostering has also been deployed in the Authority’s 999 control centre. The Authority does everything possible to avoid the need to make compulsory redundancies and so it reviews each and every vacancy (operational and support staff) that arises to determine whether the post needs to be filled or a saving can be made. As many of the staffing savings are achieved by staff retiring from the organisation, this forecast is incorporated within the emergency response reviews that are undertaken on a regular basis to ensure that the frontline service is as efficient and effective as possible. Regular reviews across all support teams are also undertaken to ensure that the size and structure of the teams are fit for purpose.