Tuesday23 June,10.00,committee
room 6, Palace ofWestminster
The National Fire Chiefs Council, Natural England and Forestry
Commission will be among organisations answering
questions from the EFRA Committee
on the growing
threat of wildfires and methods
of tackling them.
MPs are likely to question witnesses (full details below) on
improving public awareness on how to prevent fires,
as nearly all incidents are started by
people. Natural
England has said incidents caused naturally
by lightning and dry
weather are rare in the UK.
This is an area of growing concern with the National Fire Chiefs
Councilstating that 2025 broke UK records for the
most reported incidents of wildfires, surpassing
the previous record in 2022. On 1 May this
year, an area the size of 480 football pitches
was burned in parts of the
Peak District.
The cross-party Committee may also explore how improved
monitoring and data sharing across organisations and
areas of the country could improve preparedness.
Concerns raised by the Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds and the Local Government Association are likely to
prompt questions about fire services' capacity to
investigate the causes of fires due to a lack of specialist
resources.
MPs are also likely to ask how
responsibility for different
aspects of wildfire management are shared
between various parts of government, including Defra, the
Ministry of Housing Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG) and devolved
administrations. MHCLG took responsibility for
fire brigades from the Home Office in 2025, and
Defra is responsible for engaging with land managers
about wildfire mitigation and adaptation
planning.
These mitigations can include ensuring the health of peatland and
managing fuel loads' of dead, dry vegetation on
moorland.
Witnessesfrom10.00:
- Rob GazzardMICForMRICS, Wildfire and Contingency Planning
Advisor, Forestry Commission
- Professor Emma HowardBoydCBE, Chair, National Heat Risk
Commission
- Phil GarriganOBE KSFM, Chair, National Fire Chiefs
Council
From 11.00:
- Richard Bailey, Group Coordinator, Peak District Moorland
Group
- Professor Sallie Bailey, Chief Scientist, Natural
England
- Henrietta Appleton, Policy Officer, Game and Wildlife
Conservation Trust
