Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14690 on Fire and Rescue Services: Standards, what progress was made in establishing national standards for Fire and Rescue services at the first meeting of the Ministerial Advisory Group held in December.

The inaugural meeting of the ministerial advisory group for fire and rescue service reform was the first in a series of meetings that will take place quarterly. One of the group’s key aims is delivery of the manifesto commitment to work with all stakeholders in the fire and rescue sector to inform policy, including the establishment of national standards. This will form a core part of our work programme, alongside the Government’s other priorities for meaningful reform of the sector.

This will build on the work that the Fire Standards Board has already taken forward in publishing 19 different standards for the sector. These cover a range of topics relating to operational management, leadership and ethics.