Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker where in the parliamentary estate each of the 36 fire incidents since 2016 referenced in the Restoration and Renewal Client Board report Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals, published on 5 February, took place; and which of those incidents required an evacuation of the nearby premises.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
A total of 36 fire-related or safety ‑related incidents have occurred since 2016 within the Palace of Westminster. We attach the list of incidents within this timescale.
None of the 36 incidents, resulted in either partial or complete evacuation of the Palace of Westminster and all were dealt with by the in-house teams and did not require the assistance of London Fire Brigade.
Date | Location | Incident | Action |
January 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Residue oil in frying pan had ignited | Chefs reminded not to leave pans unattended |
February 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Smouldering smoking bin | Arrangement made for bins to be checked and emptied more regularly |
June 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Plantroom roof – fire damage to flat roof and scaffold boards | Small fire caused by contractor halogen light; halogen lights banned; extinguished by fire section |
August 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Smouldering smoking bin | Burnt tissues found to be cause |
August 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Smoking bin burnt | Additional smoking receptacles provided; emptied more frequently |
August 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Tea point – Burnt foodstuff | Signage placed to remind staff not to leave microwave unattended |
November 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Overheating phone charger | Electrical engineers informed |
November 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Overheated plug into trailing lead | Electrical engineers informed |
November 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Overheated convector heater | Electrical engineers informed |
December 2016 | Palace of Westminster | Smouldering smoking bin | Arrangement made for bins to be checked and emptied more regularly |
February 2017 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt toast | Signage placed to remind staff not to leave toaster unattended |
March 2017 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt toast | Signage placed to remind staff not to leave toaster unattended |
September 2017 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt out plug and socket | Electrical engineers called to investigate |
November 2017 | Palace of Westminster | Plastic tray left in warming oven | Head chef advised to cease practice |
July 2018 | Palace of Westminster | Plant pot containing peat | Unauthorised smoking caused fire; CCTV used to identify culprits |
September 2018 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt out cable reel | Contractors reminded to unwind reel before use |
October 2018 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt out E‑cigarette charger | Occupants advised to PAT test electrical equipment |
December 2018 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt out switch on oil‑filled radiator | Electrical engineers called |
February 2019 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt food | Occupants advised to watch cooking food |
May 2019 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt food | Occupants advised to check cooking times and not leave microwave unattended |
December 2019 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt out floor socket | Engineers fixed water leak affecting sockets |
February 2020 | Palace of Westminster | Smouldering smoking bin | Discarded paper ignited |
March 2021 | Palace of Westminster | Smouldering defective extension cable | Contractors reminded of correct cable management |
August 2021 | Palace of Westminster | Flare fired from outside perimeter | Extinguished by fire section |
Feb 2022 | Palace of Westminster | Overheating charging cable to hydraulic platform | Dealt with by contractors |
Dec-22 | Palace of Westminster | Plant room-drive belt overheating | Plant isolated – follow up assigned to Engineers Control |
Feb-23 | Palace of Westminster | Burnt food in microwave | Extinguished by user - microwave taken out of service |
Mar-23 | Palace of Westminster | Smoke from overheating electrical component | Power isolated and unit allowed to cool – follow up assigned to Engineers Control |
Apr-23 | Palace of Westminster | Food tray on hot surface | Food warmer isolated by electrician on request of Fire Protection Team |
Apr-23 | Palace of Westminster | Visitor Assistance audio device dropped and battery flared | Device battery extinguished without intervention - removed by Engineers Control for disposal |
Oct-23 | Palace of Westminster | Spilt cooking oil ignited on hob | Small amount of oil burnt off immediately - no extinguishing media required. Follow up assigned to Head Chef |
Aug-24 | Palace of Westminster | Unknown person ignited paper in waste bin | Bin had been placed to catch water leak which had extinguished ignited paper |
Sep-24 | Palace of Westminster | Careless disposal of smoking materials | Smouldering waste bin identified - cigarette/tissue removed and stamped out |
Sep-25 | Palace of Westminster | Careless disposal of smoking materials | Cigarette ignited waste bin – Fire Protection Team extinguished fire |
Oct-25 | Palace of Westminster | Smoke from overheating electrical component | Power isolated and unit allowed to cool – follow up assigned to Engineers Control |
Nov-25 | Palace of Westminster | Smoke from overheating electrical component | Power isolated and unit allowed to cool – follow up assigned to Engineers Control |
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of higher‑risk buildings remaining unregistered with the Building Safety Regulator on resident safety.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) investigates all matters relating to the registration status of higher risk buildings (HRBs) that are brought to its attention through residents’ complaints or by other enforcing authorities, including fire and rescue services, local authorities, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. All investigations and any subsequent enforcement actions are undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022.
In addition to responding to concerns that may be raised, the BSR’s Intelligence team proactively identifies and investigates potentially unregistered buildings.
Any HRB which is not registered with the BSR nevertheless must comply with the provisions of the Building Safety Act and, as of February 2024, the Principal Accountable Person for that building has a duty to properly assess and manage the safety risks associated with their building. Thus, non-registration does not, in itself, mean that a building is unsafe or is being inappropriately managed.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help identify the number of higher-risk buildings that have not yet been registered with the Building Safety Regulator.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) investigates all matters relating to the registration status of higher risk buildings (HRBs) that are brought to its attention through residents’ complaints or by other enforcing authorities, including fire and rescue services, local authorities, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. All investigations and any subsequent enforcement actions are undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Building Safety Act 2022.
In addition to responding to concerns that may be raised, the BSR’s Intelligence team proactively identifies and investigates potentially unregistered buildings.
Any HRB which is not registered with the BSR nevertheless must comply with the provisions of the Building Safety Act and, as of February 2024, the Principal Accountable Person for that building has a duty to properly assess and manage the safety risks associated with their building. Thus, non-registration does not, in itself, mean that a building is unsafe or is being inappropriately managed.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 108300, when the rollout of the Fire and Rescue Data Analysis Platform (FaRDAP) will be completed; and from what date Fire and Rescue Services will be required to record whether fires involve lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Fire and Rescue Data Platform (FaRDaP) Version 1 was successfully rolled out to 48 Fire and Rescue Services in England, Scotland and Wales by 14 November 2025. At present, Fire and Rescue Services are not required to record whether fires involve lithium-ion batteries or electric vehicles in national incident data, and no date has been set for when such recording will become mandatory. However, work is underway on FaRDaP Version 2 to update the data collected, including the development of categories to capture incidents involving lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles (including e-bikes and e-scooters).
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the annual cost to the economy of battery-related fires, and (2) how those costs are distributed between (a) local authorities, (b) emergency services, and (c) the waste and recycling sector.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services, with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available here: Fire statistics - GOV.UK. This does not yet include data on the cost of battery-related fire incidents.
We will keep the contents of these publications under review, as part of the development of our recently rolled out Fire and Rescue Analysis Platform (FaRDaP).
Research into the economic and social cost of fire has previously been conducted, calculating the total annual economic and social cost of fires in England, which is available here: Economic and social cost of fire - GOV.UK. This analysis breaks down said costs by anticipation, consequence, and response, but does not specifically refer to the cost of battery-related fires.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 108300, how many fires involving road vehicles of all types were recorded by Fire and Rescue Services in England in each of the last 15 years.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) in England through the Fire & Rescue Data Platform (FaRDaP), and previously through the Incident Recording System (IRS). This includes information on primary fires, fire-related fatalities, and non-fatal casualties in road vehicles. Data covering the year ending March 2025 is published here: Fire statistics data tables - GOV.UK, see FIRE 0302 ‘Primary fires, fatalities and non-fatal casualties in road vehicles by motive and vehicle type, England’. These tables present the number of primary fires for each recorded type of road vehicle per year.
Data is also available on the number of accidents involving fire and rescue authority vehicles, by fire and rescue authority, in the FIRE1402 data table.
Incident level data for road vehicle fires can be found here: Fire statistics incident level datasets - GOV.UK, see ‘Road vehicle fires dataset’ for the raw data, and ‘Road vehicles fire dataset guidance’ for guidance on the dataset.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of ambulance handover times at accident and emergency departments in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Surrey Heath is served by the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAMB). The most recent National Health Service performance figures show that the average handover time in SECAMB is 18 minutes and 37 seconds. This is over two minutes faster than the same period last year.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 sets out clear actions to deliver improvements this winter and make services better every day, including reducing ambulance handovers to a maximum of 45 minutes, helping get more ambulances back on the road for patients, and reducing category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes on average. NHS England continues to monitor average hospital handover times, sharing data with regions to support focussed discussions and identify improvement actions with those trusts not achieving handovers in 45 minutes.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 104668 on council tax, how county councils which are fire authorities and do not have separate fire precepts are treated for the purposes of that methodology.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The updated distribution for the Local Government Finance Settlement includes a resource adjustment, which takes account of a local authority's ability to raise income locally.
To reflect their differing responsibilities, within the resource adjustment we apply a different tier split to Shire Counties with fire authority responsibilities than we do to Shire Counties without fire authority responsibilities.
More information can be found in the Technical Annex on the Resources Adjustment (measure of tax base).
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) increase survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and (b) increase the availability of defibrillators in Bath.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In order to increase survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, NHS England has worked in partnership with St John’s Ambulance and others to increase access to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. Local ambulance trusts, charities including St John’s Ambulance, the British Heart Foundation, and private providers deliver CPR training and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart programme.
The Government’s position is that local communities are best placed to make decisions about procuring, locating and maintaining automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Over 110,000 defibrillators are registered in the United Kingdom on The Circuit, the independent AED database. Over 30,000 of these have been added in the past two years, many as a result of local community led action.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to establish new statutory action standards for the use of PFAS and POPs for fire-resistant purposes in furniture (a) manufactured and (b) sold in the UK.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not have plans to establish new standards for the use of chemicals in furniture manufactured or sold in the UK. The policy paper the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture, published in January 2025, sets out our plans to reform the Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 with the aim of maintaining a high level of fire safety while facilitating a reduction in chemical flame-retardant use.
Any chemicals used in the manufacture of furniture placed on the UK market must comply with all relevant UK chemicals legislation, including UK REACH and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.