Fire Services: Finance
Communities and Local Government
Written answers and statements, 5 November 2009
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury & Atcham, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
(1) how much funding was provided to the Fire and Rescue Service per resident in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Shropshire in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007;
(2) how much funding (a) in total and (b) per resident was given to the Fire and Rescue Service in (i) England, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) Shropshire in 2008;
(3) how much funding was given to the Fire and Rescue Service in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Shropshire in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2007.
Shahid Malik (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government; Dewsbury, Labour)
It is not possible to provide figures for Government funding for the Fire and Rescue Service in England as a whole, as it is provided principally through Formula Grant, an unhypothecated block grant. In some areas, fire and rescue is the responsibility of the county council, which receives Formula Grant in respect of its services as a whole. However, figures are available for the West Midlands and Shropshire, which are both single-purpose fire and rescue authorities.
The Formula Grant distribution system takes into account the relative needs of each local authority and the relative potential income that can be provided through council tax for each local authority, relative to all other authorities providing the same services. There is also a central allocation and the floor damping mechanism.
The following includes funding from Formula Grant and specific grants:
| Funding per head of population | |||
| £ | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| West Midlands | 32.94 | 34.73 | 38.30 |
| Shropshire | 16.13 | 16.72 | 21.11 |
| Total funding | |||
| £ million | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| West Midlands | 85.2 | 89.9 | 99.6 |
| Shropshire | 7.3 | 7.6 | 9.5 |