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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes in the number of firefighters on fire and rescue response times in Dorset and Wiltshire.

It is the responsibility of Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) to decide how the authority’s resources, including staff, are best deployed to meet core functions. This includes determining crewing levels and appropriate targets for local response times. Decisions are based on analysis of risk and local circumstances within local Community Risk Management Plans.

The Government is committed to ensuring FRAs have the resources they need to do their important work keeping the public safe. In 2024/25, fire and rescue authorities received around £2.87 billion. Standalone FRAs saw an increase in core spending power of £95.4m during 2024/25.