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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to carry out further consultations on changes to firefighter pensions in order to reach a settlement to the dispute on this issue.

On 23 May we published a second consultation on the draft regulations to implement the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015. Under the scheme design a firefighter who earns £29,000 and retires after a full career aged 60 will get a £19,000 a year pension. The Department will carry out further consultations during 2014 on the governance and transitional arrangements for the firefighter pension reforms. I do not intend to consult again on the draft regulations on which I am currently consulting. The Fire Brigades Union should engage in the current formal consultation process rather than pursuing unnecessary industrial action. The consultation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-regulations-to-introduce-a-new-firefighters-pension-scheme-from-april-2015 and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.