Concerns over Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s finances have been raised after was revealed there could be a £2m funding gap in its budget next year. One councillor asked for reassurance that there would be no cuts to wholetime firefighters during a meeting on May 13.
Chief Fire Officer Craig Parkin, who took on the role this year, said that some of the issues may go away if there was more funding made available – which he added was unlikely. A report published ahead of the the Policy and Strategy Committee meeting stated that a “potential funding gap in excess of £2m has been identified for 2023/24 and beyond”.
The service currently has an 11 or 12 per cent vacancy rate, which Mr Parkin admitted is good in the sense that it saves the service money – but said that it means current employees have to pick up more work.
