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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the FBU on introducing national standards across fire and rescue services.

MHCLG ministers and officials have engaged with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) as part of fire and rescue reform work, including on the future approach to national standards.

In England, national professional standards are currently developed and maintained by the Fire Standards Board (FSB), which has published 19 non‑statutory standards covering topics relating to operational management, leadership and ethics.

The Government is taking forward work to establish a College of Fire and Rescue, as recommended by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. We published a consultation on the scope and design of the College of Fire and Rescue on 20 May 2026 . As part of this consultation, we are seeking views on what an effective national standards function could look like, building on the FSB’s work.

The FBU is a crucial stakeholder and a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Fire and Rescue Reform (MAGFRR), which the Government established in December 2024 as part of its commitment to work formally with all stakeholders across the fire and rescue sector to inform policy.