Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of recent trends in fire station closures on the ability of the fire service to safeguard the public.

In December the new Fire Inspectorate, HMICFRS, completed the first inspection of all fire and rescue services for over a decade. This included assessing how effective each service is at responding to fires and other emergencies.

Operational decisions including the number and locations of fire stations are for each fire and rescue authority to make as part of the integrated risk management planning process.