Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle (a) wildfires and (b) other fires caused by environmental factors.

The National Fire Chiefs Council are responsible for driving work to further improve the fire sector’s approach to wildfire preparedness. They have committed to increasing the number of specialist wildfire tactical advisors across the country (from 23 to 35) and are developing a wildfires asset register so that Fire and Rescue Services can source specialist equipment more easily when required.

In addition, the Home Office continues to support the sector by providing over £27m per annum for specialist capabilities, such as high-volume pumps, which are well used to combat wildfires.