Cuts by Design: How Cleveland Fire Brigade Undermined Its Own Workforce & Now Blames Whitehall...

Labour MP Jonathan Brash Points to Whitehall for Cleveland Fire Brigades Financial Problems — When in Reality, its Financial Issues are entirely 'Self Inflicted'...

18th December 2025

Labour MP Jonathan Brash's recent letter to the Home Secretary on behalf of Cleveland Fire Brigade follows the now-familiar political script of workforce reductions being framed as the inevitable consequence of a flawed national funding model, compounded by deprivation and a low council tax base.

In reality, while the argument is politically convenient, it omits an uncomfortable truth —in that its poor local financial decision-making which has led to CFA's growing problems.

The suggestion that Cleveland Fire Brigade’s financial difficulties are primarily structural does not withstand scrutiny when placed alongside its own record of financial mis-management. In particular, the Brigade’s involvement in a failed Community Interest Company (CIC) Cleveland Fire brigade Risk Management Services CIC, which is in the process of being wound up by liquidators owing significant sums to its creditors, with CFA recently having to 'write off' approximately £71,000 of public money as bad debt, raising serious questions about director misconduct, as well as oversight, and accountability of the failed business.

The Scapegoat is now the Funding Formula

Brash’s letter leans heavily on national statistics, claiming cuts since 2010 and comparing Cleveland unfavourably to other fire authorities. However, these figures mask a critical distinction: many fire services operating under the same national funding framework have not experienced deficits on CFA's scale, nor have they presided over comparable financial write-offs for sideline corporations that then collapsed under the weight of their own debts.

The funding formula did not compel Cleveland Fire Brigade to engage in commercial or quasi-commercial ventures through a CIC. Nor did it require senior officers or authority members to expose public funds to what was seemingly 'avoidable' financial risks. These were discretionary decisions taken locally, and they had serious consequences to the local tax payer. .

When £71,000 of public money is written off, that loss does not disappear into an abstract balance sheet—it directly undermines frontline services. That sum equates to a firefighters salary, essential equipment, or prevention work in high-risk communities. To present future job losses as the fault of Westminster alone is, at best, as incompetent as those who were running the failed CIC that lost tax payers such significant sums. .

Financial Risk Without Accountability

The failed CIC is not a trivial footnote; it's symptomatic of a broader issue at CFA & something Mr Brash seemingly doesn't want to see exposed into the public light for fear of further reputational damage to an already 'damaged' institution. Public bodies entrusted with emergency services should exercise extreme caution when venturing beyond their core statutory functions.

These questions as to why CFA is supposedly 'struggling' is eerily absent from Brash’s letter. Instead, responsibility is seemingly displaced upwards towards Whitehall, while local decision-makers & those supposedly tasked with balancing the books escape scrutiny.

Deprivation Does not Equal a Blank Cheque

It is undeniably true that Cleveland serves areas of high deprivation and risk. However, deprivation strengthens the case for prudent financial management—it does not excuse poor oversight & governance. Public confidence in emergency services depends not only on response times and staffing levels, but also on trust that scarce resources are being managed competently, something that at CFA, is very much absent...

By focusing exclusively on funding formulas, political representatives risk reinforcing a toxic culture at CFA, in which financial missteps are allowed to be 'normalised' and never fully examined.

If Cleveland Fire Brigade is truly facing a projected £2.97 million deficit, the starting point should be a forensic examination of past decisions, not an automatic appeal for additional grant funding.

Any discussion about sustainability must include:

• Full transparency around failed projects and written-off debts

• Independent scrutiny of governance arrangements

• Assurance that lessons have been learned before further public money is sought

  
  

Until these issues are addressed, claims that the Brigade’s problems are purely structural ring hollow.

Jonathan Brash is right to be concerned about firefighter numbers and public safety.

But concern has to be matched with honesty. Cleveland Fire Brigade’s challenges are not solely the product of an unfair funding model—they're the result of avoidable decisions by ill experienced financial officials that have weakened an already stretched service.

If Mr. Brash genuinely wants to protect frontline services, he must stop deflecting blame and start demanding accountability where it belongs.