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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce minimum availability standards for on‑call fire stations to ensure that communities such as Waltham Abbey are not left without immediate fire cover.

On-call firefighters play a vital role in responding to emergencies in their local communities. The government is grateful for their dedication.

Responsibility for managing local risk and demand sits with each fire and rescue authority (FRA) and its fire and rescue service, via their local Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP). This includes making decisions on how the service’s resources are organised and deployed.