Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance has been issued by her Department to Fire Authorities on the impact to safety standards of riding (a) three, (b) four and (c) five firefighters on an appliance.

Expectations of FRAs from Government are set out in the Fire and Rescue National Framework, which all FRAs must have due regard to. Whilst the National Framework does not include explicit reference to operational safety standards, I will consider if this should be included in due course.

Safety standards in the workplace, and when responding to incidents are, of course, extremely important operational issues which we would expect Fire and Rescue Authorities to pay due attention to.