NFCC calls for sustained investment after provisional finance settlement

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.