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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service to manage urban grass fire and localised wildfire risks in built-up constituencies such as Leicester East during periods of extreme heat.

We’re investing nearly £100 million in the biggest upgrade of national resilience capabilities in nearly twenty years, part of which includes more specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters that can deploy nationally to support in wildfires across the country, including in Leicester.

We also work closely with fire and rescue services to ensure they can prepare for and manage local risks. Decisions on how fire and rescue authorities use their resources and equipment to meet those risks are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

On 9 February, the Ministry published the 2026/27 Local Government Finance Settlement which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities including fire and rescue. This financial year, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Authority will have a core spending power of £55.56 million, an increase of 7.29% compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.