The Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority Executive Committee was scheduled to meet on 10 September 2025 to discuss budget monitoring, responses to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation, and performance management. The meeting was to be held at the Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters in Aylesbury. Members of the press and public were advised that there would be limited facilities for in-person observation, but that a recording of the meeting would be made available on YouTube.

Budget Monitoring Report

The Executive Committee was scheduled to review the Budget Monitoring Report for April to July 2025. The report, sponsored by Mark Hemming, Director of Finance and Assets, indicated a projected underspend of £0.229m against a budget of £42.989m. However, reduced funding forecasts, particularly the removal of the Airwave grant and a decrease in the Pension Grant, were expected to offset this underspend, resulting in a net underspend of £0.027m.

The report included details of employee costs, noting a £0.357m overspend on wholetime staff due to staffing levels exceeding the budgeted establishment. There was also a discussion of bank costs, with a chart comparing costs incurred during the first quarter of 2025-26 against the same period in 2024-25.

A roadmap of the wholetime establishment as of 31 July 2025, through to March 2027, considered projected retirees, leavers, transfers and recruitment of apprentices.

The report also detailed non-employee costs and funding sources, with a projected funding shortfall of £0.202m due to changes in central grant allocations.

A table outlined the authority's reserves, and a capital monitoring section detailed property and operational red fleet delivery progress.

Response to The Fair Funding Review 2.0: Consultation

The Executive Committee was scheduled to consider a response to the government's Fair Funding Review 2.0 consultation. The consultation, which was published on 20 June 2025, was based heavily on the response of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).

The consultation response noted that Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) faced significant funding pressures and urged the government to reconsider elements of the Fair Funding Review.

The response included several key points:

1. Modelling produced for the NFCC suggests that the Review will result in Government grant funding for BFRS reducing by more than 20% over the next three years effectively penalising a FRS for having a level of council tax significantly below the national average.
2. This cut in Government grant funding is estimated to be £2.6m over the multiyear settlement period—equivalent to 44 wholetime firefighter roles, a reduction of almost 20%.
3. The reduction in Government grants appears to be underpinned by an assumption that council tax will be increased by £5, thereby essentially centralising what should be a local decision.

The response also raised concerns about the government's proposed approach to control totals and the distribution of Fire and Rescue RNF¹.

The response included a detailed appendix with modelling and answers to specific consultation questions.

Performance Management - Q1 2025/26

The Executive Committee was scheduled to review the Performance Management report for the first quarter of 2025/26. The report, sponsored by Simon Tuffley, Deputy Chief Fire Officer/Chief Operating Officer, detailed 53 specific performance measures across the service's six objectives, as defined in the 2025-2030 community risk management plan (CRMP).

The report highlighted several measures, including:

• ADF Fire-related fatalities: There were three recorded fire-related fatalities across two Accidental Dwelling Fires (ADF) during the first quarter, compared to an average of two per year.
• Fire Safety Audits: Fire safety audits are conducted as part of regulatory responsibilities, involving the inspection of commercial premises to ensure fire safety compliance.
• OTB Mobilisations out of BFRS Grounds: There was an increase in the number of resources used to support incidents over the border (OTB) in neighbouring services' grounds.

The report also included data on home fire safety visits, accidental dwelling fires, deliberate primary fires, non-domestic property fires, response times, appliance availability, staff numbers, absence rates, employee relations, and health and safety.