Council tax payers in Caerphilly will pay an extra 4.63% towards the fire service from April.
Commissioners at South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) have approved its budget plans for 2025/26.
It means the amount that local councils contribute to the fire service’s budget will increase from £95.84m in 2024/2025 to £101.34m – an increase of £5.5m.
Across South Wales, taxpayers face an average increase of 5.75%, meaning Caerphilly taxpayers are set for a below-average increase.
How much extra will taxpayers in other council areas be paying?
Each of the ten councils which are covered by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service will see their contributions rise as follows:
Blaenau Gwent – 4.98% (Rising by £207,610 to £4.37m in 2025/26)
Bridgend – 4.88% (Rising £443,715 to £9.53m)
Cardiff – 7.66% (Rising £1.77m to £24.91m)
CAERPHILLY – 4.63% – (Rising £507,206 to £11.46m)
Merthyr Tydfil – 3.93% – (Rising £144,061 to £3.8m)
Monmouthshire – 5.21% (Rising £304,298 to £6.14m)
Newport – 5.82% (Rising £584,650 to £10.62m)
Rhondda Cynon Taf – 5.39% (Rising £801,555 to £15.66m)
Torfaen – 5.08% (Rising £293,210 to £6.06m)
Vale of Glamorgan – 5.42% (Rising £449,920 to £8.75m)
The 4.63% rise in Caerphilly means council tax payers will pay a combined extra £507,206 – rising from £10.95m in total during 2024/25 to £11.46m in 2025/26.
The fire service covers Caerphilly County Borough, as well as nine other local authority areas across south Wales.
Last year, the fire service increased the amount of money it takes from council taxpayers in Caerphilly by 5.52%.
Increased contributions for 2025/26 are based on updated population data for each of the ten councils within the SWFRS area.
‘A line in the sand’
Baroness Debbie Wilcox, a commissioner at SWFRS, highlighted “disastrous cuts” to local government over the last decade, while speaking at the fire authority meeting where the precept increase was improved.
Baroness Wilcox called for a medium-term financial plan, and warned: “We need to look at halting our projects.”
She explained: “We have to look at what we’re doing. We have to look at what we’re paying and we have to look at whether it’s good value for money for the public and for public service.”
The former leader of Newport Council said there’s now a “line in the sand”, and the authority needs to look at things differently going forward.
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