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Fire Authority leaders today agreed a precept rise of 4.74 per cent for next year.

This will mean an increase of under 4p a week on the average bill, bringing the annual charge to £48.02 for the Band D Council Tax-payer.

West Yorkshire will continue to provide excellent value for money with the second lowest expenditure per head of population in the country.

The Authority will need just over £86m. to run the county’s fire and rescue service in 2007/8 but with a Government grant rise limited to 2.7 per cent councillors have only been able to keep the precept down by:

Authority Chair, Councillor Gordon Beever, explained that the level of grant for 2007/8 had been broadly in line with expectations so with prudent financial management the controlling Liberal Democrat/Conservative groups had been able to draw up a budget which offered a great deal for the public purse but which also allowed much-needed investment in critical areas like:

The latter will involve the creation of a specialist post within each district to work with people at highest risk from fire.

“Lifestyle is a huge influence on fire risk,” said Councillor Beever. “Over the past three years, 42 percent of fire victims in West Yorkshire have been aged 65 or over; 66 per cent lived alone and 38 per cent had some form of disability. On occasions, fitting a simple fire alarm is not enough to guarantee their safety. They need targeting for special help which, in turn, can put considerable pressure on existing station workloads.

“This task force will be in place for 12 months and should make a dramatic impact on the safety of some of the most vulnerable people in our community.”

Councillor Beever warned, however, that he was cautious about the longer-term prospects for budget-setting.

“The Government is about to review its spending plans for the next three years but the early forecast is that our grant may be capped at around two per cent. This, coupled with the fact that Whitehall may be reluctant to recognise that fire authorities will have fully repaid a transitional loan for fire service modernisation by then, could have serious consequences. Representations are being made at the highest level to ensure ministers don’t leave local taxpayers to pick up the tab for Treasury belt-tightening.”

* Councillor Beever also announced today that £10m. had been earmarked in the Authority’s capital spending plans to honour promises made for new fire stations in Pontefract/Knottingley, Castleford and Normanton.

“I know this is a very important issue for people in north and east Wakefield and that they will want to know how work is progressing.

“I’m pleased to say that we have already begun the search for suitable building land and though it may take 2-3 years for the new stations to be up and running we have set aside funding to meet the significant costs which will start to accrue from 2008/9.”