The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority agreed at its meeting today (10 February) that the fire portion of the council tax will be increased by £5 for a Band D property in 2026/27. The increase has been set as part of a challenging budget with increased costs, rising demands and a reduction in national funding.

Even with the council tax increase a budget gap of £2.2m is forecast for 2026/27.

To meet this gap, temporary measures such as reducing the amount set aside for capital projects and taking money from risk mitigation reserves have been agreed.

While these measures will offset this year’s budget gap, the service’s funding allocation from central Government is expected to reduce by £2.9 million over the next three years.

At the same time, the demands on the fire sector have been changing. *Nationally the fire service in England responded to 20% more incidents last year compared to a decade ago (2014). This contrasts with a reduction in firefighter numbers in England, which are down 25% since 2008. This is the equivalent of 11,000 wholetime firefighters.

Locally, the number of incidents Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service has responded to has increased by 29% between 2015/16 and 2024/25 while the number of firefighters has reduced by 333 since 2002.

Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, said “Despite delivering more than £3m in efficiencies – around 3% of our annual budget – we are still forecasting a budget gap for the future. We can temporarily balance the 2026/27 budget using one-off measures, but these are not long-term solutions.

“Fair funding from central Government must be delivered going forwards. We know it is a difficult economic climate and that this is presenting challenges for our communities, partners and for Government with many competing demands to balance, but a £2.9 million reduction in real-term funding is impossible for us to absorb.

“We have unique challenges, such as providing services to a remote island. The funding formula must be revised to consider this and other factors involved in serving a large and varied area. I believe the formula should be completely updated and, until it is, a promise should be made to ensure no fire service sees a reduction in funding. Ultimately, fire and rescue funding needs to come from sustainable, central sources, not be reliant on local taxes.”

Chairman of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority, Councillor Rhydian Vaughan, said: “Our Chief Fire Officer is working with the National Fire Chiefs Council to ensure that the challenges fire services are facing are recognised by Government.

“We need to keep the pressure up and present a strong case for increased funding for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. We have already called upon our local MPs to add their voices, and representation has been made to the Fire Minister.”