Thank you to fire and rescue services: letter from the Home Secretary, 23 December 2023
Published 24 December 2023
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Dear Fire and Rescue Services,
It was an honour to be appointed as Home Secretary and to join you in your mission to keep our public safe. I am familiar with the exceptional work our fire and rescue service undertakes from my previous role as the Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. I am grateful for the work fire service professionals do every day to help keep our communities safe, and the unrelenting commitment to fire protection and the crucial business of preventing fires. You contribute so much to society and I want to take this opportunity to send you my personal thanks for all that you do.
Working in the fire and rescue service is an important and difficult job. On any shift, at any time, you could find yourself confronted with the most dangerous of situations. Fire professionals are flexible, competent and highly trained to make immediate decisions that have the potential to save lives. I thank you all for your brave efforts in responding to a wide range of emergency and critical incidents this year.
Our public services, including our fire services, are admired around the world - a fact that was abundantly clear to me during my time as Foreign Secretary. This year has seen you achieve so much. As Foreign Secretary I was immensely proud of the UK International Search and Rescue capability and thank all fire and rescue service staff who volunteer as part of that, particularly for the support that you were able to provide to Morocco and Turkey following devastating earthquakes earlier this year. And for the first time in 70 years, officers and staff across the UK worked together to ensure the coronation of a new monarch passed off smoothly and safely by having fire service personnel present along the procession route that the King took on his journey to Westminster Abbey.
Since becoming Home Secretary, I am delighted that we have published the Government response to the White Paper on Fire Reform and am thankful for your help in shaping these proposals. This response sets out how we can work together to drive forward important reform for our fire and rescue services, to make the service even better for the public and for all our fire professionals. I am also grateful for all of your support to improve fire protection and prevention outcomes. Your technical advice to the Department has been invaluable in publishing fire safety guidance, developing fire safety policy and raising the profile of new threats such as fire safety concerns with personal light electric vehicles. The expertise of your protection departments is vital to driving forward enforcement action and supporting the delivery of the new Fire Safety Regulations.
I am looking forward to spending more time with you on the front-line next year. In the meantime, I want to thank you once more for all you do, and I wish you and your loved ones a restful festive break.
The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP
Secretary of State for the Home Department