The Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority Executive Committee was scheduled to meet on Wednesday 9 July 2025, to discuss budget monitoring, and the impact of the Safety Centre. The meeting was also scheduled to include the election of a chair and vice-chair, and to note the date of the next meeting.

Budget Monitoring Report

The committee was scheduled to consider the Budget Monitoring Report April 2024 – March 2025, which provides a provisional overview of the authority's revenue and capital spending as of 31 March 2025.

The report indicated a net underspend of £0.954m, attributed primarily to lower direct employee costs from reduced overtime and on-call expenses, as well as vacant support positions. Higher-than-expected investment returns, due to the Bank of England's base rate falling slower than anticipated, also contributed to the underspend.

The report also detailed a capital programme for 2024/25 of £3.623m, which included £1.300m carried forward from the previous year. The provisional figures showed an underspend of £0.013m, alongside a slippage of £1.598m in the capital programme.

The recommendations to the Executive Committee included:

• To note the provisional outturn forecast as at 31 March 2025.
• To approve the slippage of £1.598m on the capital programme to be carried forward into 2025/26.
• To split the underspend of £0.954m, transferring £0.415m to the General Fund and £0.539m to the Revenue Contribution to Capital Reserve (RCCO).
• To approve a transfer of £0.205m into the future funding reserve.
• To approve a debt write-off of £0.024m related to Encompass, which dissolved in February 2025.
• To delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer to authorise any late changes to reserve movements and capital slippage amounts resulting from year-end accounting adjustments, with a report to Members at the next available meeting if changes are required.

The report included a breakdown of variances by directorate:

• Corporate Core: £0.287m underspend, mainly due to higher investment income, partially offset by temporary restructuring costs.
• Finance & Assets: £0.171m underspend, primarily related to salary costs and vacant positions, including a proposed debt write-off of £0.024m for Encompass.
• People Directorate: £0.242m overspend, mainly due to additional approved establishment and training costs.
• Delivery, Corporate Development & Planning: £0.633m underspend, primarily due to lower on-call and overtime costs, with a carry forward request of £0.205m for items including a delayed uniform contract.
• Statutory Accounting: £0.091m underspend, due to the pay award being below budgeted levels, partially offset by higher on-call retainer increases.

The report also provided a detailed breakdown of the capital monitoring, including property, fire appliances and equipment and ICT.

Safety Centre (Hazard Alley) Impact Report

The Executive Committee was scheduled to consider a report on the impact of the Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service's partnership with the Milton Keynes Safety Centre (Hazard Alley) Limited+Limited/).

The report highlighted that between 1 September 2024 and 30 June 2025, the Safety Centre educated 12,109 students in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes on various safety topics, including fire safety, road safety, online safety, and knife crime prevention. An additional 11,669 students from neighbouring counties were also educated during this period.

The report noted that the Safety Centre works with partners such as Thames Valley Police, Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Councils, Cadent Gas, and Network Rail.

The report also mentioned that the Safety Centre secured a £25,000 grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation towards core costs and received £9,000 from Rotary MK for upgrading the water safety scenario at Hazard Alley.

The report stated that a new website with an online booking system was being developed, and a new CDM awareness course was launched.

The report also highlighted successful funding bids for delivering safety education programmes in schools, including knife crime prevention workshops and violence against women and girls' prevention workshops.

The report concluded by noting that the Safety Centre received excellent media coverage and was a finalist in two categories at the MK Business Achievement Awards.

Other Matters

The Executive Committee was also scheduled to:

• Elect a Chairman for 2025/26.
• Appoint a Vice-Chairman for 2025/26.
• Approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 19 March 2025.
• Discuss matters arising from the previous meeting.
• Receive declarations of interest from members.
• Consider questions submitted in accordance with standing orders.
• Note that the next meeting would be held on 10 September 2025.