Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of reducing the number of controlled winter burns on moorlands on levels of summer wildfires.

The Government is acutely aware of the wildfire risk presented by dry conditions on moorland. Natural England has published a wildfire evidence review into the causes, severity and management practices to mitigate wildfire risk. Officials are considering this along with evidence collected through stakeholder engagement to inform policy development in this area. Some of the clearest evidence points to improving the resilience of our peatlands to wildfire by ensuring they are wet and in a natural state. Managed burning results in an increase in vegetation types, such as heather, which have a higher fuel load compared with natural blanket bog vegetation.

We recognise that there will sometimes be exceptional circumstances where controlled burning may be the only practicable technique available to mitigate the risk of wildfire, as part of efforts to protect and restore peatland.