Fire and Rescue Services: Finance

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement, including funding for Fire and Rescue Authorities, is distributed through the Settlement Funding Assessment (SFA).

The SFA uses a range of formulas to determine relative need of areas which when combined with a measure of tax base, determines their relative income. The formula used for Fire and Rescue Authorities includes variables such as population, coastline, population density, sparsity, deprivation, high-risk areas, property/societal factors, and a community fire safety top-up.

Further details on the current funding methodology for Fire and Rescue Authorities can be online, within the ‘Calculation of 2013/14 Formula Funding’ linked here.

The current system for funding local authorities, is out of date, does not represent best value for taxpayers, and without action this will get worse. That is why after years of delays, we will update the local government finance system.

We sought views on our principles and objectives for funding reform, including the approach to updating the data in the fire and rescue services Relative Needs Formula, through a consultation which ran from 18 December 2024 - 12 February 2025. A second consultation will run following the Spending Review which will seek views on a detailed approach to determining new funding allocations for local authorities, including fire and rescue services.