Only a few weeks into the new Parliament and Mark Lancaster is already fighting the cause for issues affecting local people in Milton Keynes. Last Thursday Mark highlighted the funding plight of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Service.

Mark spoke in the House of Commons and raised the problem of funding difficulties that the previous Government had inflicted upon the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority. 40% of Fire Authority funding comes from Central Government grants. The average increase in this funding across Combined Fire Authorities in the UK over the last three years is 7.5% Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes however have only received a 2% increase. Similarly, funding is not the only problem; distribution is a key factor. For example, Nottinghamshire received a three year cumulative grant increase of 18.6% Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes received only 2%.

Mark said “Under the last Government, Milton Keynes expanded beyond its infrastructure. I will continue to fight for fair funding in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, so that essential services like the Fire Authority do not suffer. What is required is a fair distribution of funding. Without this, many Combined Fire Authorities will have great difficulty enduring any further cuts from Central Government grants without the level of service being directly reduced.”

Hansard: “I pay tribute to the courage and dedication of firefighters up and down the land. May we have a debate on funding for fire authorities because under the previous comprehensive spending review, shire authorities, such as your own, Mr Speaker, received on average an allocation of just 2%, whereas many urban authorities received up to 18%. Although we all understand the financial constraints that we are under at the moment, can the funding under the next review at least be fair across the land?”