Government

Politicians are set to appear as witnesses at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry for the first time on Wednesday 30 March, amidst calls for the inquiry to highlight the role of governments in creating the system that in turn caused the disaster. Brandon Lewis MP, now Secretary of State for Northern Ireland...

Ken Knight’s testimony before the Grenfell Tower Inquiry must mark a sea-change in holding key government advisers to account for the fire, the Fire Brigades Union has said. The union has demanded he is held responsible for his actions. His testimony is due to start at 2pm on Wednesday 9 March. Matt...

The FBU has responded to a new UN report on climate change by stating that much more needs to be done on climate change in terms of both prevention and adapting to its devastating impacts. The report, released yesterday and from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, suggests that...

Central government knew that the type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower should “never ever” have been used above 18 meters from the middle of September 2002, evidence at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry today confirms. Former Building Research Establishment director Debbie Smith gave evidence to the...

The Fire Brigades Union has welcomed the call from the Members of Scottish Parliament on the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee for groups and individuals to submit their views on the proposed Scottish Government Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill. The published bill includes plans for...

Response times by the fire and rescue service to significant fires in England have slowed by the biggest amount since 2015. New figures show that the average response time for primary fires in England was 8 minutes and 43 seconds for the year ending September 2021, a slowing of six seconds when...

A fire and rescue service is facing having to borrow at least £25m, equal to around 70% of its annual budget, to fund new equipment and other spending, after the government abolished its capital grant for it. At a meeting of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel Michael Porter, director...

A plan for Cumbria fire and rescue governance to be taken over by the Police and Crime Commissioner could eventually lead to three fire station closures. The expansion of Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall’s responsibilities to include fire – with his role expanding to that of Police Fire...