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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has considered the potential merits of publishing a wildfire strategy.

The Government recognises the increasing risk posed by wildfires and the importance of a coordinated, cross-government approach to prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

Since 2024, the Government has funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are working closely with a wide range of partners to strengthen our collective approach to wildfire resilience. We are taking action across critical areas such as response and national capabilities, forecasting, data collection and risk assessment, ensuring these are drawn together into a coherent cross-government approach.

As part of this work, we announced the launch of national wildfire capability pilot on 20^th June, as part of the £96 million New Dimensions 2 Programme. It places teams of 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 wildfire teams will be located strategically and hosted by fire and rescue services in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, London and South Wales - deployable to incidents across England by the end of June.