England fire funding rules clarified for mayoral authorities
Iain Hoey
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Fire funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement
An explanatory note published on 9 February 2026 sets out how Fire and rescue functions will be funded and overseen for Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England through the Local Government Finance Settlement covering 2026 to 2027 through 2028 to 2029.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) issued the note as part of the final Settlement.
Where a Mayoral Strategic Authority has responsibility for fire and rescue, funding for those functions will be routed through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Authorities with fire and rescue responsibilities are already treated as Fire and Rescue Authorities within the Settlement framework.
All funding for Mayoral Strategic Authorities, including fire and rescue, is counted within Core Spending Power.
Fire precepts and shadow arrangements
Mayoral Strategic Authorities can raise a single council tax precept to cover their general functions, including fire and rescue.
If a Mayor also holds Police and Crime Commissioner functions, a separate precept component is set for policing.
In the 12 months before any transfer of fire governance, a mayoral combined authority or mayoral combined county authority may, subject to regulations, exercise shadow fire and rescue functions.
During this period the Mayor would set a general precept that includes funding for fire and rescue preparations.
Mayoral precepts can in theory be subject to annual referendum limits set by the Secretary of State, though none have been applied to date.
A Mayoral Strategic Authority is only included in the Council Tax Revenue line of the Settlement for fire and rescue if it has formally agreed to take on those functions.
Fire budget scrutiny and transfers
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will require mayors to share their draft fire and rescue budget with the relevant scrutiny body before it is finalised.
This notification must show how much of the general precept relates specifically to fire and rescue.
Mayors must consider any report produced by the scrutiny body in response.
If material changes are made after the budget is finalised, the Mayor must notify the scrutiny body and publish related documentation.
Where Fire and Rescue Authority functions transfer to a Mayoral Strategic Authority, funding will move into the Local Government Finance Settlement under regulations setting out the timing and governance changes.
If existing Fire and Rescue Authority boundaries align with the mayoral area, funding will be aggregated from the previous arrangements, including any real-terms transitional protection.
Where boundaries do not align and need to be redrawn, MHCLG will assess options for fire funding and publish details later.
Any in-year transfers will be reflected in the annual update to the Local Government Finance Settlement.
The government has also earmarked £2.1m in transitional support to help Fire and Rescue Authorities manage potential transfers of functions, with specific allocations to follow.