Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of an increase in the annual budget of Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service to provide operational coverage to the new homes to be built during this Parliament.

The final Local Government Settlement 2024/25 has determined that overall fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion this year to continue protecting our communities at the highest standard. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Authority will have core spending power of £38.5 million with an increase of £2.1 million or 5.9 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.

It is the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority to determine how to allocate that funding based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances. Decisions on future local authority funding will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.

In the meantime, the Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services can keep the public safe.