Where we got our money from in 2022-23

The fire authority gets its money from three main sources: Council Tax, business rates and grants from government. In 2022-23 we also received a services grant which is also from government but is a one-off grant.

We make sure that when we set the budget for the year, we can afford to pay for the services we offer and provide. This includes any plans we make where we need to include longer-term commitments. The fire authority needs to ensure that it doesn’t plan to spend more than it has available, so agreeing the amount of council tax that the fire authority needs to receive each year is an important part of this process.

In 2022-23 we received £77.4m, the table below shows the breakdown, and we spent this on providing support and services to the people of Kent and Medway. which has an estimated population of 1,578,000.

What are business rates?

Business rates are officially known as National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR). Like Council Tax on the home you live in, businesses in Kent and Medway pay business rates to Medway Council or one of the 12 district councils. The tax is used to help provide public services such as ours.

What is the revenue support grant?

This is a central government grant given to local authorities to help pay for the cost of delivering services such as ours.