Member

The SLSC also picked up on the National Fire Chiefs Council’s suggestion of a more integrated cross-government approach to wildfire prevention. Can the Minister update the House on the current wildfire framework and the outcome of the scoping exercise? Lead responsibility for wildfire has moved from the Home Office and now rests with MHCLG. However, it is on the advice of Natural England that Defra has laid these regulations, which will exacerbate the risk of wildfires. Mandating the wildfire framework would require NE to consider the impact of wildfire on the conservation status of land. I suggest it should go further, and require NE to take account of the impact and enable mitigating actions. When will this Government stop talking about not working in silos and have an integrated cross-government approach to wildfire prevention? While the Government dither, England burns.