MPs on the House of Commons Environment, Food and RuralAffairs Committee will question experts tomorrow morning on the UK’s response to the growing threat of wildfires.
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 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 Council stating 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.
The mitigations can include ensuring the health of peatland and managing ‘fuel loads’ of dead, dry vegetation on moorland.
Witnesses appearing before the Committee are as follows:
From 10.00a.m. onwards:
- Rob Gazzard MICFor MRICS, Wildfire and Contingency Planning Advisor, Forestry Commission
- Professor Emma Howard Boyd CBE, Chair, National Heat Risk Commission
- Phil Garrigan OBE KSFM, Chair, National Fire Chiefs Council
From 11.00 onwards:
- Richard Bailey, Group Coordinator, Peak District Moorland Group
- Professor Sallie Bailey, Chief Scientist, Natural England
- Henrietta Appleton, Policy Officer, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust
Click here to watch online on Parliament Live TV or catch up afterwards
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