Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of fire station closures on response times.

It is the responsibility of each Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) to decide how each authority’s resources, including staff, are best deployed to meet core functions, including appropriate targets for local response times. Decisions are based on analysis of risk and local circumstances within local Community Risk Management Plans.

When considering proposals for changes to station provision, including potential closures, FRAs should assess the impact on response times as part of their overall assessment of community risk.