Introduction

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is consulting the public on its council tax precept for the year ahead.

The precept is the amount people pay through their council tax for fire and rescue services.

Our council tax precept is currently below the national average for fire and rescue services, and fire accounts for a small portion of council tax in Lancashire – around 4% of your total bill.

Image of firefighter in fire kit in front of an appliance looking into the distance

Our budget

Our budget is made up of council tax precept (54%), business rates (28%), and government grants (18%).

Our council tax precept is currently below the national average for fire and rescue services, and fire accounts for a small portion of council tax in Lancashire – around 4% of your total bill. 

Most of our budget is spent on the day-to-day expenditure needed to provide our services including employee pay, firefighting equipment, energy, and fuel.

We have a strong track record of balancing the budget and maintaining vital services that represent excellent value for money to the people of Lancashire.

However, increased costs and financial pressures mean budget challenges lie ahead to maintain our services and meet vital investment needs.

Consultation

We are asking for your support for a small increase to the council tax precept in 2026-27 - the equivalent of £5 per year (on a Band D property). This would still be below the national average for fire and rescue services.

The impact on each band of property would be as follows:

  • Band A – an increase of £3.33 per year, taking the total from £59.82 to £63.15 

  • Band B – an increase of £3.89 per year, taking the total from £69.79 to £73.68 

  • Band C – an increase of £4.44 per year, taking the total from £79.76 to £84.20 

  • Band D – an increase of £5.00 per year, taking the total from £89.73 to £94.73 

  • Band E – an increase of £6.11 per year, taking the total from £109.67 to £115.78 

  • Band F – an increase of £7.22 per year, taking the total from £129.61 to £136.83 

  • Band G – an increase of £8.33 per year, taking the total from £149.55 to £157.88 

  • Band H – an increase of £10.00 per year, taking the total from  £179.46 to £189.46 

This increase means our services will cost 14p per person per day overall.

How to participate

Complete our survey by accessing the link or scrolling to the frame at the bottom of the page.

The survey closes at 5pm on Wednesday 4 February 2026.

Delivering value for money

In 2024-25, some of our services included:

·         16,963 incidents attended

·         23,533 home fire safety checks delivered in Lancashire homes

·         69,466 children and young people received prevention education

·         32,549 people took part in road safety education

·         3,637 business fire safety checks delivered in Lancashire businesses

You can find out much more about the services we provided last year at www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk/performance. 

Our financial planning

Making sure we continue to provide quality services to the public and at the same time meet future community needs are priorities in our financial planning.

Our plans for 2026 and beyond include investment in our buildings, training facilities, vehicles, and equipment, in line with our community risk management plan, which sets out how we will keep people in Lancashire safe.

We will continue to use our resources efficiently and provide the best services for the whole of Lancashire. View our financial strategy. 

Next steps

Lancashire’s Combined Fire Authority will consider the budget at a meeting on Monday 23 February 2026 and will decide whether to increase the council tax precept. The results of this consultation will inform the decision.

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