The majority of the Fire Authority's funding is provided directly by the government in the form of Revenue Support Grant and Business Rates. The remainder is raised via the precept which forms part of the council tax bills issued by the District Councils. However, the Fire and Rescue Authority only sets its budget after taking account of the government's regulations on capping, the reserves it has available and any income that it generates.

The Authority’s Financial Regulations are provided in the Library

For 2012/13 the Authority has a budget of £57m

The Authority has taken action to head off the possibility of further cuts to the Fire Service in the future by increasing council tax by 3.95% to help secure funding of up to £1m a year, not just in 2012/13 but in future years.

The extra cost to council tax payers as a result of the decision will be between £1.58 and £4.74 per year. Council tax payers in the average Band D will now pay £62.54 a year towards the Fire Authority – a rise of £2.37 and equivalent to less than 5p a week extra.

The Authority has committed to cutting management and administration costs by 25% by 2014 to protect frontline services. It is also proposing to restructure its operations in order to meet Government cutbacks.

What will the money be spent on?

The budget is planned to be spent as follows:-

Who pays?

The Fire and Rescue Authority's budget comes from a variety of sources:

In accordance with the Accounts and Audit regulations, the Authority must approve its Statement of Accounts before the end of June each year. The Statement of Accounts and Summary Accounts for the last three years are available in the Library.