Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of funding changes on the effectiveness of the service provided by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service since 2010.

Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) have delivered significant savings over the past five years. Fire-related fatality numbers and incidents can fluctuate between years, and despite a small increase in 2015/16, over the past 10 years there has been a 22 per cent decrease in the number of fire-related fatalities and a 52 per cent decrease in the total number of reported fires.

Since 2009/10 single-purpose fire and rescue authorities’ non-ringfenced reserves rose by 153% to £602 million. These resources should be targeted at achieving long-term efficiencies.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authorities’ non-ringfenced reserves rose from £7.3m in 2009/10 to £29m in 2015/16.