Council tax

Providing good value for money

One of the ways we are funded is through council tax from the residents of Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

The money provided helps us respond effectively to the risks across Hampshire and Isle of Wight, respond to incidents and help keep our communities safe.

We make sure we spend our budget efficiently and plan for the future to give the best value for money for our residents.

Nearly 72% of our budget is spent on employing staff – our most valuable resource. The remainder is spent on essential supplies and services, transport, property and information and communications technology, as well as funding capital investment in our estate and vehicles to enable us to deliver our services.

Our Safety Plan sets out the direction of our fire and rescue service over the next five years. It includes five strategic objectives that will guide how we run our service and help us to continue to meet the needs of communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Ensuring financial sustainability is essential to our long-term success. We are committed to making the best use of resources to ensure that we can continue to deliver high-quality services without compromising on safety.

To help us to achieve this, we have an efficiency and productivity plan in place. This plan gives examples of how we have already delivered cashable and non-cashable efficiency and productivity gains and how we will continue to target ways we can be more efficient in the future. We have committed to delivering cashable savings of £1.7m during 2025/26 to support our financial sustainability, deliver our Safety Plan objectives and achieve our purpose that ‘Together we make life safer’.

Our budget for 2025/26 includes an increase in council tax. Central government sets an effective upper limit on council tax increases and assumes that council tax will be increased by this amount. This amount was £5 on a Band D property this year, which equates to just over 6% in our area (under 50p a month for three quarters of households). The Authority agreed to this increase for 2025/26 and the council tax for fire and rescue services in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight remains among the lowest amounts in the country.

The cost to you

The information below shows you exactly how much you will pay for your fire and rescue service in 2025-26, broken down by council tax band.

• Band A – £58.56
• Band B – £68.32
• Band C – £78.08
• Band D – £87.84
• Band E – £107.36
• Band F – £126.88
• Band G – £146.40
• Band H – £175.68

This information is about the portion of your council tax which goes to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority. Your council tax bill also includes amounts for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, as well as your unitary authority or upper tier and district / borough and, in many areas, parish or town council.

Please contact your district council if you have any queries about your council tax bill or council tax benefit.