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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to WPQ 13718 answered on 1 July 2026 about Fires, if she will undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of the New Dimensions 2 programme and the impact of the programme on tackling the wildfires in 2026.

The Government is investing approximately £97m under the New Dimensions 2 programme to uplift and replace national resilience assets. This is the largest scale upgrade of these assets in almost twenty years.

This investment includes a pilot national wildfire response capability with specialist firefighters, equipment and training positioned across England to support fire and rescue services during major incidents.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) funds the national resilience lead authority in Merseyside to deliver a range of services, including capability assurance, to ensure National Resilience Capabilities operate effectively across the country.