Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they expect a higher incidence of wildfires in the UK in the coming years and what plans they have to mitigate the impact of wildfires on newly established forests and woodland.

Outdoor fires, especially wildfires, are expected by many academics to increase in frequency in the coming years as a result of climate change.

A coordinated approach is essential to mitigate the impact of climate change on people, property, habitats, livestock, natural capital and wildlife, and to plan the most effective response to incidents.

Landowners and land managers are encouraged by Defra to adopt good quality wildfire management plans and use sustainable land management practices that reduce fuel loads.

The UK Forestry Standard1 highlights the need for woodland owners to have fire prevention in contingency plans and adaptation for the risk to be assessed in forest management plans. This is supported by the UKFS Practice Guidance "Building Wildfire Resilience in Forest Management Planning" for both new woodland creation and existing woodland management.2

Each fire and rescue authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire), through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) while having regard to the views of other key local responders.

Fire and Rescue Services undertake a range of activities alongside local partners, including prevention and educational activities and the Forestry Commission also provide 'Lantra' accredited training to the forestry and land management sector on vegetation fires, with over 1,300 places delivered since 2021.3

1 The UK Forestry Standard - GOV.UK

2 Building wildfire resilience into forest management planning - Forest Research

3 Forestry Commission - Lantra Vegetation Fire Training