Emergency Services: Employers' Contributions
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 66192 on Emergency Services: Employers' Contributions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of basing allocations on net current expenditure on the level of mitigation made to fire and rescue authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern
We recognise the challenges that fire and rescue authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services.
In 2025-26 the Government provided £2 billion of additional grant funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement, including a total of £515 million to manage the impact of employer National Insurance Contribution changes for councils and combined authorities. The level of this funding was determined based on a national assessment of the costs for directly employed staff, taking into account the impacts of the changes on different types of local authorities. The grant distribution methodology was published in an explanatory note on gov.uk here.
This methodology was updated at the final 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement, following feedback raised by stakeholders through the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement consultation.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →