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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has (a) created and (b) appointed a National Wildfire Coordinator.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

The government recognises the evolving risk of wildfire and is committed to putting in place the necessary measures to mitigate its impacts and drive forward the UK’s resilience to wildfires. To strengthen government response, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have established joint arrangements to oversee work on wildfire risk anticipation and assessment, preparedness, prevention, response and recovery.

As part of the New Dimensions 2 programme, the government has recently announced the launch of the national wildfire response capability at the end of June. The pilot will place specialist firefighters in key areas across the country ready to respond to wildfires across England, enhancing local response arrangements. The teams are equipped with state-of-the-art kit and have undergone intense training - taking on latest tactics and response strategies drawn from international best practice.

The Local Government Finance Settlement will make available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power (CSP) for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding York & North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester), an average 4.71% increase compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, the government will have provided a 12.75% increase in CSP compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet their core functions, including wildfire resources, are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Furthermore, since 2024 the government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor. The advisor's role is to evaluate what further national capabilities are needed to boost resilience against wildfires and to ensure that efforts across the sector are well-coordinated. Additionally, the government has recently recruited for an additional support officer to assist in this space.

Finally, each Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) and having regard to the views of other key local responders. This could include the use of aerial assets should a service deem it locally necessary. The government does not keep a register of aerial capabilities for firefighting as it's a local decision.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to secure targeted funding for wildfires as part of Fire Service budgets.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

The government recognises the evolving risk of wildfire and is committed to putting in place the necessary measures to mitigate its impacts and drive forward the UK’s resilience to wildfires. To strengthen government response, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have established joint arrangements to oversee work on wildfire risk anticipation and assessment, preparedness, prevention, response and recovery.

As part of the New Dimensions 2 programme, the government has recently announced the launch of the national wildfire response capability at the end of June. The pilot will place specialist firefighters in key areas across the country ready to respond to wildfires across England, enhancing local response arrangements. The teams are equipped with state-of-the-art kit and have undergone intense training - taking on latest tactics and response strategies drawn from international best practice.

The Local Government Finance Settlement will make available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power (CSP) for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding York & North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester), an average 4.71% increase compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, the government will have provided a 12.75% increase in CSP compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet their core functions, including wildfire resources, are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Furthermore, since 2024 the government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor. The advisor's role is to evaluate what further national capabilities are needed to boost resilience against wildfires and to ensure that efforts across the sector are well-coordinated. Additionally, the government has recently recruited for an additional support officer to assist in this space.

Finally, each Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) and having regard to the views of other key local responders. This could include the use of aerial assets should a service deem it locally necessary. The government does not keep a register of aerial capabilities for firefighting as it's a local decision.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of aerial firefighting.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

The government recognises the evolving risk of wildfire and is committed to putting in place the necessary measures to mitigate its impacts and drive forward the UK’s resilience to wildfires. To strengthen government response, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have established joint arrangements to oversee work on wildfire risk anticipation and assessment, preparedness, prevention, response and recovery.

As part of the New Dimensions 2 programme, the government has recently announced the launch of the national wildfire response capability at the end of June. The pilot will place specialist firefighters in key areas across the country ready to respond to wildfires across England, enhancing local response arrangements. The teams are equipped with state-of-the-art kit and have undergone intense training - taking on latest tactics and response strategies drawn from international best practice.

The Local Government Finance Settlement will make available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power (CSP) for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding York & North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester), an average 4.71% increase compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, the government will have provided a 12.75% increase in CSP compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet their core functions, including wildfire resources, are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Furthermore, since 2024 the government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor. The advisor's role is to evaluate what further national capabilities are needed to boost resilience against wildfires and to ensure that efforts across the sector are well-coordinated. Additionally, the government has recently recruited for an additional support officer to assist in this space.

Finally, each Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) and having regard to the views of other key local responders. This could include the use of aerial assets should a service deem it locally necessary. The government does not keep a register of aerial capabilities for firefighting as it's a local decision.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department has given to the use of fire ponds to tackle rural wildfires.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

The government recognises the evolving risk of wildfire and is committed to putting in place the necessary measures to mitigate its impacts and drive forward the UK’s resilience to wildfires. To strengthen government response, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have established joint arrangements to oversee work on wildfire risk anticipation and assessment, preparedness, prevention, response and recovery.

As part of the New Dimensions 2 programme, the government has recently announced the launch of the national wildfire response capability at the end of June. The pilot will place specialist firefighters in key areas across the country ready to respond to wildfires across England, enhancing local response arrangements. The teams are equipped with state-of-the-art kit and have undergone intense training - taking on latest tactics and response strategies drawn from international best practice.

The Local Government Finance Settlement will make available almost £1.95 billion in core spending power (CSP) for standalone fire and rescue authorities in England (excluding York & North Yorkshire and Greater Manchester), an average 4.71% increase compared to 2025/26. By the end of the multi-year period, the government will have provided a 12.75% increase in CSP compared to 2025/26. Decisions on how resources are best deployed to meet their core functions, including wildfire resources, are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Furthermore, since 2024 the government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor. The advisor's role is to evaluate what further national capabilities are needed to boost resilience against wildfires and to ensure that efforts across the sector are well-coordinated. Additionally, the government has recently recruited for an additional support officer to assist in this space.

Finally, each Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) and having regard to the views of other key local responders. This could include the use of aerial assets should a service deem it locally necessary. The government does not keep a register of aerial capabilities for firefighting as it's a local decision.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England collects data on avoidable delays in the diagnosis of leukaemia.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Government is committed to ensuring that the National Health Service diagnoses cancer earlier and treats it faster so that more patients, including those with leukaemia, survive.

The National Disease Registration Service collects information on how many people in England are diagnosed with or treated for cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms, which is available at the following link:

https://nhsd-ndrs.shinyapps.io/incidence_and_mortality/

This creates a clinically rich data resource that is used to measure diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer.

The 28-day faster diagnosis standard is a performance standard that aims to have a patient diagnosed or cancer ruled out within 28-days from referral. This performance metric monitors diagnostic performance and delays in diagnosis across cancer types, including leukaemia. It is published monthly and is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/

The NHS is taking crucial steps to improve cancer outcomes for patients across England, including for leukaemia. We will improve cancer survival rates and hit all NHS cancer waiting time targets, so no patient waits longer than they should.

To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers, like leukaemia, are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

To diagnose blood cancer earlier and treat it faster, we will support the NHS to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in diagnostic capacity.

Found: Current membership Mr Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat; Orkney and Shetland) (Chair) Sarah Bool

Found: Tuesday 5 November 2024 Members present Alistair Carmichael, in the Chair Sarah Bool Charlie Dewhirst

Found: Current membership Mr Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat; Orkney and Shetland) (Chair) Sarah Bool

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Alistair Carmichael (Chair); Sarah Bool; Charlie Dewhirst; Sarah