Dear Brother/Sister,
MPs DEBATE FLOODING AND STATUTORY DUTIES OF THE FIRE SERVICE
Following on from continued lobbying by FBU members, Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse) secured a Westminster Hall debate on flooding and statutory duties on Wednesday, 8th June 2016. Whilst this was only a 30 minute debate, it meant that the issue of a statutory duty for the fire and rescue service to respond to flooding incidents was kept high on the Parliamentary agenda. This duty already exists in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and thanks to the lobbying efforts of members and officials in Wales, we are hopeful that we can secure such a duty there, the Westminster Government are now alone in thinking that flooding is somehow different in England.
In order for Members of Parliament to be fully informed, the FBU prepared a report detailing the Fire and Rescue Service response to the December 2015 floods in parts of the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This report can be accessed via the following link:
https://www.fbu.org.uk/publication/december-2015-floods-report
To further compliment the debate, a House of Commons library report on statutory duty was published, which is helpful to us and can be found via the following link:
http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7605#fullreport
Further, the Hansard transcript of the debate from 8th June 2016 can be found via the following link:
Members will be kept informed of any further developments.
Yours fraternally,
Dave Green
National Officer
