Council tax rises coming as Bedfordshire Fire Service agrees to increase budget
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has voted to increase its budget for next year.
Members of the Fire Rescue Authority agreed to its 2026/27 budget and decided to increase its part of the council tax bill by £5 a year – taking it up to £122.72 per year for a Band D equivalent property.
The authority said the 4.25 per cent increase will “generate essential additional investment to support delivering vital services and maintain the frontline services people rely on”.
The Band D council tax of £122.72 works out to 34 pence per day for the fire service.
Cllr Richard Wenham, authority member and finance lead, said: “The decision to increase council tax is always a difficult one and never taken lightly. I appreciate the rising cost of living our residents experience, but the fire service is crucial in delivering prevention, protection and response services and protecting the people of Bedfordshire. I’m therefore happy to support the increase.”
The fire service has promised to make £2 million of savings.
Andy Hopkinson, Chief Fire Officer, said he makes “no apologies for the difficult decisions we’ve had to make nor for the future changes and reforms I need to make”.
He explained that the service needs to keep up “with all the growth and change planned in our county, including the building of Universal Studios, the creation of Tempsford new town and the proposed East/West Rail links”.
Andy said: “This budget enables us to continue working together to keep Bedfordshire safe, investing in the core prevention, protection and emergency response services – the bedrock of our reputation with the public.
“We remain focused on restructuring the Service to ensure we are fit for the future, which means being agile, responsive, and data-driven and evidence-based in our decision making to ensure we meet the challenges and opportunities ahead, in what is arguably the fastest growing county in England.”
The budget would go towards protecting the number of firefighters the service has, funding the Luton fire station’s rebuild and buying five new fire engines and equipment.
He added: “We’re also delivering improvements at our training centre to reduce the exposure risk from contaminants associated with firefighting to better protect our firefighters, and investing in additional safety critical training and leadership development.
“We’re grateful the FRA has approved our latest budget and I look forward to working together with Members and colleagues to keep Bedfordshire safe.”