Meeting to be held on Monday 3 February 2025
Contact for further information – Steven Brown, Director of Corporate Services
Tel: 01772 866804
Executive SummaryLancashire Fire and Rescue Service is currently consulting the public on its council tax precept for the year ahead.
The purpose of this report is to update members of the planning committee on the consultation plan following announcement of the provisional local government finance settlement in December 2024.
Recommendation(s)Members are asked to note the report.
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A consultation plan is being implemented to consult the public on Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s council tax precept for the year ahead.
The consultation aims to understand levels of support for a proposed increase in 2025-26 which equates to £5 per year (on a Band D property).
An online consultation was launched on 7 January 2025 at www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk/budget.
320 stakeholders from organisations including local authorities, town and parish councils, and community groups have been invited to take part in the consultation, along with 79,752 subscribers to the Service’s In The Know email newsletter.
It is also being publicised on social media platforms and internal communication channels within the organisation.
The consultation closes at 5pm on Monday 3 February 2025. A full report will be provided to the Authority as an appendix to the budget report at its budget meeting on Monday 17 February 2025.
Approval to undertake the annual budget consultation is delegated to the Chair of the CFA in consultation with the Treasurer and the Chief Fire Officer, due to the limited amount of time between the announcement of the local government financial settlement and the Authority’s budget meeting.
Ascertaining support levels for the Service’s financial plans and views from communities and stakeholders is essential to provide opportunity to influence development of their fire and rescue service and will be used to inform decision making.
None.
An equality impact assessment has been undertaken and equalities monitoring is in place to understand if the consultation has reached all parts of the community.
Data Protection (GDPR)
Will the proposal(s) involve the processing of personal data? Y/N
If the answer is yes, please contact a member of the Democratic Services Team to assist with the appropriate exemption clause for confidential consideration under part 2 of the agenda.
None.
The consultation is being delivered by the Service’s in-house corporate communications department without any additional resources.
Consultation over the council tax precept is a statutory requirement.
The consultation plan is aligned to the Service’s consultation strategy which is reviewed annually by the Planning Committee to ensure that it continues to meet statutory requirements and incorporate good practice.
Paper: Lancashire Combined Fire Authority Public Consultation Strategy
Date: January 2024
Contact: Mark Nolan, Clerk and Monitoring Officer
Reason for inclusion in Part 2 if appropriate: Insert Exemption Clause