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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service in advance of their station closure consultation.

Decisions on how fire and rescue services are run, including the number and locations of fire stations or crewing numbers, are for the local fire and rescue authority (FRA) and its Chief Fire Officer. The FRA is responsible for ensuring the needs and demands of their local community are met. They are responsible for directing their resources where they are needed most and in accordance with their Community Risk Management Plans (CRMPs).

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)’s latest published statistics on fire and rescue service (FRS) workforce numbers say that while the full time equivalent (FTE) number of firefighters has reduced by 0.5%, the total number of FRS staff (FTE) has increased by 0.6% on the previous year.