Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that fire services in Surrey can guarantee public safety during periods of insufficient staffing.

Firefighters play a vital role in keeping the public safe and we are grateful for the work undertaken by fire and rescue services across the country in support of their local communities.

The Government is committed to ensuring fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work. Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion during 2024/25. Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of £95.4m during 2024/25. This is an increase of 5.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.

It is for the Fire Authority to guarantee that their Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) can secure sufficient resources to meet public safety during periods of insufficient staffing. This includes ensuring that their FRS has sufficiently trained, qualified and competent persons to meet their legislated functional requirements.