Kent Fire and Rescue Service
Budget Book And Medium Term Financial Plan 2025/26 – 2028/29

For 2025/26 the Authority will receive funding from Council Tax, Business Rates, Collection Funds (prior years Council Tax and Business Rates surplus’ or deficits), Revenue Support Grant, Top-up Grant & Business Rates Section 31 Grants, each of which are described below. 

Council Tax Precept

Around 66% of the Authority’s funding comes from Council Tax. The level of Council Tax raised is affected by the level of Council Tax discounts given by billing authorities (Medway Council and Kent District Councils) to Council Taxpayers on low incomes and the level of exemptions granted. The level of discount can also have an impact on collection rates. The amount to be collected from Medway Council and Kent District Councils for 2025/26 is £64.507m.

Business Rates and Top-up Grant 

50% of the income from Business Rates is paid to the Government with the remaining 50% being retained locally, from which Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) receive a 2% local share. Authorities that collect more than the amount specified by the Government will pay a levy to the Government and those that collect less may receive a safety net payment. This Authority is part of a pooling arrangement with Kent County Council and the majority of Kent District Councils. This Authority’s share of the amount to be collected from Medway Council and Kent District Councils for 2025/26 is £7.761m. As the Authority’s Business Rates Baseline is less than the Baseline Funding need, the Government will also pay a Top-up Grant which is expected to be £8.997m.
 

Collection Funds 

Each year there can be either a surplus or a deficit on the Collection Funds if the amount collected for Council Tax and Business Rates differs from estimates (assumed by the Districts and Medway) when setting budgets in prior years. Overall there is a net surplus of £354k to be paid to the Authority in 2025/26. 
 

Revenue Support Grant (RSG) 

The Government continues to redistribute funding through the payment of RSG. A grant of £11.549m is expected for 2025/26.  
 

Section 31 Grants

The Government continues to provide additional funding to authorities to compensate for the impact of previous caps on the increase in the business rate multipliers and other Business Rates reliefs given. The amount of Section 31 grant expected for 2025/26 is £4.417m.

Employer National Insurance Grant 

The Government will provide the Authority with a new grant for 2025/26, to partly fund an increase in costs due to changes to employer national insurance contributions (increasing the rate to 15% and lowering the threshold that employers start to pay national insurance to £5,000) from April 2025. The amount of grant expected for 2025/26 is £647k so this will fund approximately 58% of the additional cost.