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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her department has held with (a) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (b) the Ministry of Defence on the allocation of Bambi Buckets and other wildfire fighting measures in the past 12 months.

Aerial firefighting assets are currently provided through private contractors on a call-when-needed basis, with arrangements made locally by fire and rescue services according to operational requirements. The Department therefore does not hold a central estimate of the number of Bambi Buckets available for wildfire response.

Over the past 12 months, the Department has engaged with Defra and the Ministry of Defence at official level on wildfire preparedness and response, including through the Wildfire Summit on 23 October. The Government announced at the Wildfire Summit that it will establish a nationally coordinated aerial firefighting capability. This will provide a coordinated mechanism for deploying aviation assets during major wildfire incidents, supporting fire and rescue services to contain their spread, reduce their duration and protect communities. We are continuing to work with the Ministry of Defence, the National Fire Chiefs Council and other partners on the operational detail.