00:00So the Fire and Rescue Service here in Hamish Nile White faces some really difficult choices.
00:04So we have a deficit in the funding we receive from not only government, but also in terms of what we can gather in capital tax.
00:11And so we have to make some difficult operational choices about how we spend that money.
00:15And so we've looked very carefully over the last 18 months about what we can change.
00:19And so we've decided to essentially combine some vehicles to make sure all the equipment is still carried,
00:24but one vehicle instead of two, that saves us 16 firefighter posts.
00:27I've also decided to not use some of the stations that aren't used across the Isle of Wight.
00:32We've taken away some, on a simply basis, some second appliances across the county and some quieter, low-risk areas.
00:39And we'll be testing that over the next year.
00:41And a number of other measures that just allow us to bring our spend, operational spend, into line with our budget.
00:47I would say this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to challenging times in the future.
00:52And I know, looking at the government's plans for funding for fire services, this is going to get a lot worse.
00:56And so this year is about trying to make do, but the coming years are going to be much harder.
01:01And certainly we hope that politicians can step in and make a difference for us in terms of the funding available for chief officers in the future to make decisions which are safe.
01:09So the reassurances that you have been asked to look at after this meeting, that is for making 16 redundancies and losing eight managers at fire stations in Hampshire.
01:26What, what, what, what's going to happen there?
01:30So the, we'll look carefully at, one of the findings of the, as mentioned, is the inspectorate, in terms of our workforce planning.
01:37And so we, we plan currently to have 16 firefighters less.
01:41And that's behind the scenes.
01:42So the numbers of fire engines available is no less.
01:44It's going to change that.
01:45It's how we resource those fire engines from behind the scenes.
01:47So that will change.
01:49But in particular, we'll be looking at managers, management costs and support staff costs in headquarters and other places to make sure the balance of costs aren't always on the front line.
01:59And we're really careful to protect our front line.
02:01So today's decision is to make sure that nothing's changed since our inspectorate report, nothing's changed since the mayoral announcements about future governments, governance of fire and rescue, which will change my current position on the recommendations.
02:14So is this the, the least worst of a difficult decision?
02:19Yeah, I mean, these are untenable decisions we're making now.
02:22Deciding whether to spend money to protect firefighters against dangerous contamination, against how do we keep the numbers of firefighters available to us to protect our communities.
02:31So these are impossible decisions to make.
02:33And we're balancing as best we can, given the funding that we've got.
02:37Thank you, Neil.
02:38Can I ask you now about, this is your, this is your last meeting as Chief Fire Officer.
02:45So how long have you been in the service, Chief Fire Officer?
02:49And how do you feel now that you're departing?
02:53Gosh.
02:54So I'm a firefighter with 34 years experience.
02:56And it's been my life of fire rescue service, both here and the neighbouring county of West Sussex.
03:02So for me to be the Chief for the last seven years here in Hampshire has been a privilege of my life.
03:07It's been a tough seven years.
03:08And the years before that, as a Principal Officer, always trying to make sure we spend money well.
03:13And we need a fantastic organisation to do things they do.
03:16I couldn't be more proud of this organisation, the people in it, and the work we do to protect our public every day.
03:21And to say that I move on with a smile on my face is important.
03:26But actually, I recognise the challenges this organisation and the fire sector has right now.
03:31And part of me wants to stay and help resolve.
03:34But it's time for me to move on and others to take their chances to fight that fight
03:38and ensure that our frontline heroes are protected in the current climate.
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