Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of European Forest Fire Information System data on the area burnt in the UK compared with the EU in 2025; and what assessment she has made of the contribution of (a) climate change and (b) vegetation management to the trends recorded.

Defra is using European Forest Fire Information System data to inform our analysis on the conditions associated with wildfire risk. EFFIS statistics provide a consistent Europe-wide basis for comparing wildfire activity. However, the data may differ from national datasets that record smaller fires. Defra is looking at a range of data sources to improve our understanding of the environmental conditions associated with wildfire susceptibility.