Baroness McIntosh of Pickering
Main Page: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Brandon Lewis
I appreciate the hon. Lady’s comments about the retained fire service. She should be aware that they do a phenomenal service throughout the country. In many areas they are the bulk of the service, and during the recent strikes—I note that she did not ask the Fire Brigades Union not to strike, nor did she condemn it—they were the backbone of keeping this country safe. They have done a super job. We are all in the fortunate position of seeing fire response times reacting; call-outs are falling to their lowest level for 10 years because of the service’s great prevention work. The fire service’s key work is prevention so that it does not need to respond in the first place.
Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)
Will the Government consider putting the flood and rescue work of fire crews on a statutory basis, and will he thank them for their excellent work in the recent winter floods? I recall the young man who died of hypothermia in the Hull floods in 2007 because none of the emergency services had the requisite cutting equipment to free him.
Brandon Lewis
The current legislation recognises the fire sector’s response to flood work. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004, the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 and the 2012 fire and rescue national framework detail the role and powers of fire and rescue authorities in respect of emergency response and rescue, including flooding. My discussions with fire chiefs have revealed that that is what they are happy with; they like the current situation.