Fire Services: Floods

Mark Pritchard
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contingency funding are available to fire and rescue services for the provision of (a) rescue and flood response services, (b) equipment and (c) staff training in respect of flooding.

Mr. Malik
At the national level, the Department has provided the fire and rescue service with 46 high volume pumps and funding for training. The high volume pumps have been used to great effect during floods.

At the local level, fire and rescue authorities are able to use their local discretion in equipping themselves with the appropriate capabilities to meet the risks, such as flooding, identified through their local risk assessment processes, using the flexible funding arrangements of the revenue support grant.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made up to £2 million available to March 2011 to carry out the Flood Rescue National Enhancement Project, which aims to enhance current flood rescue capability. A strategy for how this money will be best used is being developed, and organisations, including the fire and rescue service, could potentially receive some future funding.