Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect reductions in public spending have had on the ability of fire and rescue services to respond to floods and other emergencies as a result of Storm Desmond.

Mike Penning

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

The Government has been in constant contact with local responders and over 22 Fire and Rescue Services have provided mutual aid to areas with support from others including the RNLI. The Government has activated the Bellwin Scheme, funding which supports local authorities in the costs associated with an emergency response.