COUNCIL Tax payers will be forking out more for their fire service in the next financial year.

Cheshire Fire Authority is putting up its section of the Council Tax bill by 1.99 per cent, which is £70.46 for the average Band D home, or an extra 2.6p per week or £1.37 a year.

The authority has been told to expect cuts of eight per cent a year from central Government funding, which means the authority needs to make savings of nearly £8 million during the next four years.

Members set a budget of £42.2 million for 2015-16 after confirming revenue savings of £1.9 million, made up of £950,000 from value for money reviews across back office areas and the same amount from changes in emergency response services.

Cllr John Joyce, fire authority chairman, said: “By improving the efficiency of all aspects of the organisation we have been able to limit our Council Tax increase to under two per cent.

“We know these are difficult times for many families but this small increase combined with the major savings we have made are essential to ensure we can continue to provide communities across Cheshire with a first class fire and rescue service in the future.

“Our programme to improve the flexibility and efficiency of our frontline emergency response services includes changing how some stations are staffed but we are confident this will be achieved without making any firefighters redundant.”

Chief Fire Officer Paul Hancock added: “The latest figures show that the number of fires in Cheshire is at an all-time low, while the number of fire-related injuries has also reduced.

“We know there are still big challenges ahead but the changes we are introducing are helping us to ensure we don’t compromise on our commitment to protecting local communities, reducing risk and maintaining firefighters’ safety.”