Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment on the potential impact of the removal of the Funding Guarantee Scheme on the Fire and Rescue Service.

We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. That is why in the provisional Settlement for 2025-26 we have made available £69 billion for local government including a £5 referendum principle for Fire and Rescue Authorities. Together with central government grant and locally retained business rates, the proposed principles provide a real-terms increase in core spending power of 3.5% on 2024-25. The government also announced an additional £515 million of unringfenced funding for local government, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, specifically to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget. Allocations for individual Fire and Rescue Authorities will be confirmed at the final Settlement.