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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of training given to firefighters attending people in mental health crisis.

Fire and rescue authorities (FRA) as employer are responsible for ensuring that firefighters receive the training they need to safely respond to the wide range of incidents that they attend.

The National Fire Chiefs Council maintains national operational guidance for fire and rescue services to draw upon when developing operational policies, procedures and training.

The fire and rescue national framework requires all fire and rescue authorities to work collaboratively with partner agencies such as NHS, mental health services, and the police and integrate training reflecting current societal risks such as mental health crises. Each FRA must align its training and response strategies to meet these national policy expectations.