Supplementary remuneration report: Fire and Rescue Authorities
The Commission has published its Supplementary remuneration report on Fire and Rescue Authorities.
You can read the foreword and background below, and you can access the full report here, or as a download link at the bottom of this page.
Foreword
This supplementary report sets out the Commission’s final determination on the remuneration of members of Fire and Rescue Authorities in Wales as those bodies move to new governance arrangements. These changes, introduced by the Welsh Government, will establish smaller executive-style boards comprising one executive councillor from each constituent local authority together with a minority of independent members appointed through public competition.
In reaching this final determination, the Commission has considered carefully the responsibilities that will attach to these roles, the evidence available to us, and the views submitted during consultation. We are grateful to those who responded and whose representations helped inform our consideration of the issues.
The Commission has determined that remuneration for relevant Fire and Rescue Authority roles should be aligned with the Welsh Government’s Band 3 public bodies rates, with payment made on a daily basis and with provision for half-day and hourly payments where appropriate.
These arrangements are intended to support implementation of the new governance model after the May 2027 local government elections. Although this report contains our final determination, it will not be static. The Commission will review this determination as part of future annual remuneration reports, in the same way as we review other determinations within our remit, taking account of experience of implementation and any wider developments in the roles and responsibilities of Fire and Rescue Authority members and other senior roles across the local government family.
Karen Jones
Chair
Background
Following issues identified in the governance of Wales’ Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRA), the Welsh Government has legislated to change how these vital bodies are run.
As part of this, the makeup of their boards is being changed. They currently have between 24 and 28 members, nominated by the local authorities within their area. This will change to one member from each local authority within the FRA’s area, and a minority of independent members, to be appointed by Welsh Government through fair and open competition. The local authority members must be executive councillors, that is a council leader, deputy leader or cabinet member. The changes have been enacted by The Fire and Rescue Services (National Framework and Variation of Combination Schemes) (Wales) Order 20261.
The role of FRA members will change. Welsh Government have worked with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to create new role descriptions for member roles.
Welsh Government has decided that all three FRAs will move to this model after the local government elections in May 2027.
Welsh Government has asked Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru to determine the remuneration of members within these new arrangements. This supplementary report sets out our determinations.
The three FRAs in Wales; Mid and West Wales, North Wales and South Wales were formed as part of Local Government re-organisation in 1996. FRA boards currently comprise elected members who are nominated by the principal councils within each fire and rescue service area. The remuneration of members assumes that they will be working for 22 days per year, and for ordinary members is linked to that of ordinary principal councillors.
The remuneration for the chairs of FRAs is currently linked to a principal council Band 3 senior salary. Deputy chairs, committee chairs and other paid senior posts are linked to a Band 5 salary. Full details of the levels of remuneration for members of FRAs for 2026-27 is set out in Table 1 below. These rates were determined in the Commission’s Annual Remuneration Report for 2026-272.
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