FIRE CALL ELEMENT OF STANDARD SPENDING ASSESSMENT

Motion Text

That this House welcomes the Government's plans to remove the perverse fire call element of the standard spending assessment from 2003/04; nevertheless expresses grave concern at its impact in 2002/03 on some fire authorities, such as West Yorkshire, whom it will penalise for reducing genuine and bogus fire calls; regrets that the impact in West Yorkshire will be an ú800,000 grant shortfall that will contribute to a council tax precepts increase of around 14 per cent on a Band D property; and calls on the Government to mitigate the loss of grant by averaging the call factor over the previous six years.