council tax precept – International Fire & Safety Journal

NFCC and the finalised settlement

The Government has finalised a three-year funding settlement for fire and rescue services that includes a strengthened funding floor for 2026/27 backed by an additional £15 million for standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities.

In a statement, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) welcomed the revised settlement and said it improved on the provisional position set out before Christmas.

The deal will deliver an increase in core spending power next year.

The extra funding is expected to be directed towards services judged to be most at risk where funding inequities have been greatest.

What changes for authorities

The NFCC explained that the settlement confirms several reforms affecting how services are funded.

Standalone fire and rescue authorities will be able to raise council tax precepts by up to £5 per year for a Band D property.

Authorities that apply the full £5 increase will receive at least an uplift in core spending power through the strengthened funding floor.

The higher floor follows sustained advocacy from Fire Chiefs, local parliamentarians and representative bodies who highlighted operational and cost pressures.

Earlier proposals had raised the prospect of real terms reductions after a decade of cuts and further lobbying sought additional headroom to reflect inflation and rising costs.

Because the uplift depends on authorities adopting the full £5 flexibility, the NFCC is urging them to use the option in full.

For county council run fire and rescue services, funding arrangements are more complex and depend on local decisions to achieve a comparable level of protection.

What the NFCC says still needs addressing

Garrigan said: “We welcome the Government’s decision to strengthen the funding floor with the provision of an additional £15 million – a clear improvement on the provisional position and a reflection of sustained, constructive engagement between NFCC, government, local MPs and representative bodies.

“After a decade of cuts, services were facing further real terms reductions.

“The reforms announced before Christmas were welcomed, but we were clear they did not go far enough in recognising unavoidable pressures and rising demand.

“The Government has listened, and this revised settlement offers greater stability and capacity to protect the public.

“This is an important step forward, but long term underinvestment – particularly the loss of almost £1bn in capital funding, a significant reduction in firefighter numbers and the previous disinvestment in the central co-ordination of the sector – must now be addressed.

“Securing sustainable investment for the future is the next priority.”

Government data cited by the NFCC shows fire and rescue services in England responded to 642,170 incidents in the year to September 2025, a 28% rise over the past decade.

Wholetime firefighter numbers have fallen by 25% since 2008, equivalent to around 11,000 posts.

Services are simultaneously dealing with more complex risks linked to climate change, new energy technologies and an expanded civil resilience role.

The NFCC says ageing estates, outdated infrastructure and historic financial pressures continue to constrain progress.

The council is pressing for a longer term investment strategy to ensure services are properly equipped to protect communities.

NFCC welcomes £5 precept rise but flags long-term gaps

The UK Government has published a provisional local government finance settlement covering 2026-2027 to 2028-2029, with measures that affect fire and rescue service funding.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Chair Phil Garrigan responded to the provisional settlement and said it reflects government recognition of financial pressures on fire and rescue services.

He said funding was starting to move in the right direction for fire and rescue services, while adding that further work remained after previous reductions in investment.

NFCC welcomes the precept option

Garrigan said the NFCC welcomed the ability for fire and rescue authorities to increase their council tax precept by £5.

He also welcomed a real-terms funding increase pledged to authorities that take up that opportunity.

Garrigan said this reflected engagement by the NFCC on behalf of Chief Fire Officers, their authorities and the wider sector.

Phil Garrigan, NFCC Chair, said: “This provisional settlement shows that the financial pressures being experienced by fire and rescue services are at last being acknowledged.

“We are seeing things starting to move in the right direction on fire and rescue service funding, but on the back of huge disinvestment in previous years there is still more to do.

“We welcome the ability for fire and rescue authorities to increase their council tax precept by £5, and the real-terms funding increase pledged to those that take up that opportunity.

“This reflects the engagement by NFCC on behalf of Chief Fire Officers, their authorities and the wider sector who have played their part in seeking better recognition of the critical role our services play.”

Claims on staffing and capital investment

Garrigan said the measures would help services avoid further real-terms cuts.

He said they did not reverse a decade of reduced investment.

Garrigan said firefighter numbers had fallen by approximately 11,000.

He added that nearly £1 billion had been lost in capital funding.

He said fire and rescue services were dealing with increasingly complex and evolving risks while carrying out public safety work each day.

Next steps and ongoing engagement

Garrigan said the NFCC would work through the detail of the settlement.

He said the settlement represented an important step forward.

He welcomed what he described as positive engagement from government on matters of public safety.

He said the NFCC would continue to advocate for funding that reflects the role of fire and rescue services and supports continuous improvement in response.

What this could mean for fire and rescue budgets

The settlement sets out a framework for local government funding across 2026-2027 to 2028-2029, and the NFCC response signals that fire and rescue authorities may have scope to raise additional funding through a £5 council tax precept increase.

For Fire Chiefs, Chief Fire Officers and senior finance leads, the NFCC comments indicate that planning assumptions may hinge on whether an authority uses the precept option linked to a real-terms increase.

For procurement officers and equipment specifiers, Garrigan’s reference to capital funding losses of nearly £1 billion frames why capital planning remains a live issue for fleet replacement, station estates and major equipment programmes.

For training officers and operational leaders, the NFCC estimate of an approximate 11,000 fall in firefighter numbers provides context for workforce capacity discussions that may sit alongside any funding uplift.

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NFCC welcomes finalised three-year fire service funding settlement