Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

Debate between Florence Eshalomi and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Tuesday 13th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Florence Eshalomi]

My hon. Friend raises an important point that demonstrates that wildfires cannot be responded to by emergency services alone: it takes the community, the people, voluntary organisations and a number of charities working together to respond. It is important that we have in place an action plan that includes cross-border and cross-Government work on responses.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

The Minister is absolutely right. If we look at the wildfire management in Torfaen, the military personnel were deployed by the UK Government and the Secretary of State for Wales. Obviously, areas such as land management are devolved to the Welsh Government. The Minister is absolutely right about the number of agencies, but does she agree that we need a cross-Government plan to make sure we get that co-ordination right?

[Florence Eshalomi]

I will come on to that point, but I agree with my right hon. Friend. One of the reasons that the Prime Minister is calling the summit is to address that issue and to consider the national capability to respond. We want to make sure that we do not have a situation where we have more wildfires.

--- Later in debate ---

[Florence Eshalomi]

Just to reassure my hon. Friend and others, the agenda and themes for the summit have not been decided, but I am sure we will want to ensure that hon. and right hon. Members are able to feed in. As I mentioned, MHCLG and DEFRA are working on the joint summit, and there will be many opportunities for Members to feed in and ensure that we get the right people at the summit, and work on the right areas, so that we can get the best outcome.

I also want to take this opportunity to highlight the work of so many people on the ground. I thank the soldiers from the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, the South Wales fire and rescue service and firefighters up and down the country for their help getting the relentless wildfire at Blaenavon under control. At the height of the summer, an emergency alert reached 55 million phones across England and Wales, demonstrating the shared nature of the risk and the importance of ensuring that we work across Governments to make sure out nations are safe.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

Talking about people on the frontline, I am sure the Minister shares my horror that our firefighters did not have the personal protective equipment that they needed. I hope she will pass on to the relevant Minister as a matter of urgency that that is one practical thing that we really need to deal with.

[Florence Eshalomi]

I thank my right hon. Friend for highlighting that; he will know that the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Fire Brigades Union and firefighters, alongside other organisations and groups, will be at the seminar. I am sure they will make their voices and representations heard loud and clear.

I also want to highlight the two constituents mentioned by my right hon. Friend, Anthony Watkins and Sara Warman, for their work and effort in making sure we continue to work in co-operation with UK Governments including the Welsh Government, looking at shared learning, resilience and ensuring that the right funding is brought forward to address these key areas.

By acting on the lessons learned this year, we can improve readiness. My Department is committed to continuing to work with the Welsh Government and the Governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as fire and rescue partners and communities across the UK. In conclusion, I once again thank my right hon. Friend for securing this debate and bringing the issue to the House.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I have one final point. As I said in my speech, there is also an issue around how the UK Government calculated how much money went to the North York Moors National Park Authority for recovery from a peat fire, which is also the situation in Torfaen. Will the Minister undertake to speak to ministerial colleagues about this? I have written to ask how exactly that was calculated. I am sure that is something I could look at putting to the Welsh Government, so will the Minister undertake to secure a response for me?

[Florence Eshalomi]

I will take that away and write back to my right hon. Friend with further details. He will be aware that MHCLG also announced a £97 million upgrade to the national resilience assets, including equipment and national wildfire response capability pilots, with specialist firefighters, equipment and training positioned right across the UK, but I will come back to him in writing on that specific point.

I pay tribute to everyone who has responded across the UK and in Wales this summer, as well as the communities impacted on the frontline. Their experience must shape what we do next, and our focus must now be on applying those lessons before the next wildfire season.

Question put and agreed to.

Civil Service Pensions

Debate between Florence Eshalomi and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Monday 6th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

Quite simply, that should not be happening. If the hon. Lady is willing to write to me with precisely the information that was given, and what the correct information was, the Parliamentary Secretary will look into it.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to give this important update. To be honest, I think that many of our constituents will be watching with a lot of alarm, concern, anger and frustration, thinking, “How will this situation change?” A constituent of mine wanted me to raise his case. He said:

“I turn to you as a last resort for help in a moment of personal crisis and right to family life. For the past six months I have been trying to get the civil service pension scheme to issue me with a letter confirming my annual and monthly pension entitlement…I am a 70-year-old retiree with medical conditions. I reside 50% of year in Brazil…with the remainder of the time spent in the UK where I am a UK taxpayer. I am a retired member of the FCDO having served almost 38 years in various diplomatic roles.”

This is not a way to treat hard-working members of staff who have given so much of their time to our Government. Can the Minister assure me that Capita will be held accountable for the failure, and will he say that heads should roll?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the situation has been totally and utterly unacceptable. Capita has been and will be robustly held to account. That is why I have appointed an audit to look at the future of the scheme, as well as the remedial adviser—who is being appointed at Capita’s expense—to force rectification directly on the ground. There are two things too look at here: the immediate operational issues, and the future of the scheme.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Florence Eshalomi and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I am more than happy to write to my hon. Friend with an up-to-date, precise figure for interim payments. I should also mention that, as was raised with me in the House on a number of occasions in the autumn, inheritance tax bit on secondary beneficiaries, and I was pleased that this Government dealt with that issue at the Budget.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. What recent progress he has made with Cabinet colleagues on improving the use of technology to implement Government priorities.

UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations

Debate between Florence Eshalomi and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

We would expect the price to be £810 million. With the discount, it is £570 million. However, the right hon. Gentleman completely misunderstands the situation, because a substantial amount of that money will come back in the form of grants to our own people who are applying to be on the scheme. On his point about value for money, I have made sure that the argument about having a fair balance is embedded. That is the basis on which we will continue, but after 10 months there will be a review that looks at the balance between contribution and participation. If he wants to do something useful to address that balance, he could encourage his own constituents to participate.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Minister for his statement. I am a proud Erasmus graduate and the first in my family to go to university. As I was a carer for my late mother, I did not study abroad. I stayed at home and commuted to university, so Erasmus was the first time I was able to experience that. Many years on, I still have connections and friendships that were formed through the scheme, and it is good to know that young people in my constituency will be able to benefit from it. It is so, so vital. Can the Minister outline the timeframe a bit more, so that we can make sure that this is rolled out not just to young people in university but to apprentices, young workers and those studying, to make sure that they get life skills and experiences that are so rich and that will stay with them for life?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

My hon. Friend speaks powerfully about the transformative experience that she had. My aim today is to have, in years to come, others who can speak similarly of the transformative experience that they have had. With regard to moving forward, it will first be about the appointment of a national agency. It will then be about doing really important work next year to get the application process up and running, and about making sure that people have the necessary information and are supported to be able to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that will be coming in 2027.