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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with fire and rescue services to help increase levels of (a) resilience and (b) preparedness in (i) central government, (ii) local authorities, (iii) local communities and (iv) emergency services.

Fire and Rescue Authorities have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to prepare for emergencies, such as a major fire or flooding and extends to areas such as cyber security. Fire Rescue Authorities also have discretionary powers to respond to incidents under their core functions in the Fire and Rescue Services Act (2004) and in response to the risks set out in their Community Risk Management Plans prepared under the National Framework. These local plans identify and assess the full range of foreseeable fire and rescue-related risks and make provision for prevention and protection activities and appropriate response to incidents.

The Government provide grants to Fire and Rescue Authorities to support and maintain the national resilience capabilities which are widely used in day-to-day operations by Fire and Rescue Services to enhance both local response and response to major and national scale catastrophic incidents. Central Government works with the National Fire Chiefs Council, Fire and Rescue Services and Authorities who play an active role in supporting the work of Local Resilience Forums which all contributes to ensure a multi-agency approach to prepare and respond, as well as recover from such incidents.