GPSJFLOODS FEATURENational Fire Chiefs Council(NFCC) renews calls for actionto tackle the impact of floodingThe National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has renewed calls for Government to consult on a statutory duty for 昀椀reand rescue services in England to respond to 昀氀ooding incidents.The call comes in after recentmultiple 昀氀ood warnings and oneyear on from Storm Babet, whichcaused widespread 昀氀oodingand damage across northernand western Europe, with sevenpeople tragically losing their livesin the UK. NFCC is calling forthe Government to consult on astatutory duty for 昀椀re and rescueservices in England to respondto 昀氀ooding incidents which posea risk to life and says this shouldbe underpinned by initial 昀椀nancialinvestment and ongoing funding.Fire and rescue servicesacross the UK already undertakeactivities in response to extremeweather events. However, thereis no statutory duty for 昀椀re andrescue services in England inrelation to 昀氀ooding and inlandwater rescue, which can resultin discrepancies in equipment,training and standards betweenservices. This is also leading toinconsistent levels of safety and28preparedness across the four UKnations, with Scotland, Wales andNorthern Ireland already havingsome statutory duties in place.NFCC Chair, MarkHardingham, said:“With climate change leadingto more frequent and severeweather events - as witnessedrecently in the United States withHurricane Helene and HurricaneMilton - 昀氀ooding remains asigni昀椀cant risk, including tocommunities here in the UK. Lastyear’s Storm Babet highlightedthe critical need for coordinatedand well-resourced 昀氀oodingresponse e昀昀orts.“Fire and rescue servicesacross the country played a vitalrole during the storm, respondingto rising waters, evacuatingresidents, and protectingproperty. It is vital that they havethe tools, training and resourcesto prepare and respond.“I am encouraged that the FireMinister recently con昀椀rmed to methat Home O昀케ce o昀케cials wouldundertake further work withDefra, NFCC and other relevantparties to understand whetherthere are gaps in 昀氀oodingresponse and resilience, and Ilook forward to this work beingtaken forward to help ensure thatour communities are protectedfrom the growing risks posed byextreme weather”.National Fire Chiefs Council(NFCC) has also published threenew policy position statementscalling for further action to tacklethe impact of wild昀椀res, 昀氀ooding,and the e昀昀ect of increased rainfalland hotter summer temperatureson inland water safety.The frequency and magnitudeof 昀氀ooding is increasing due toclimate change. The UK HealthSecurity Agency estimates thatapproximately 6.1 million peoplein the UK are at signi昀椀cant riskof 昀氀ooding, with the numberGOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL WINTER 2024/2025expected to rise to between 9.8million and 13.3 million by 2050.The risk of water safetyincidents is also being ampli昀椀edby the e昀昀ects of more extremeweather. Hotter summertemperatures can result inmore people participating inwater-based leisure activities orentering the water to cool down,heightening water safety risks.The summer of 2022 was thehottest on record for the UK, and,according to statistics from theNational Water Safety Forum,recreational activities accountedfor 58% of accidental drowningfatalities that year.The government recentlylaunched a long-awaitedconsultation on a strategicland-use framework for England.While the ALC should form a corepart of these deliberations, in itscurrent form it cannot reliablyinform the critical decisionsthat need to be made aboutcompeting land uses.Climate change is alreadydrastically reducing the amount ofland suitable for food production,with 60% of England’s highestgrade farmland now at high riskof 昀氀ooding. Meanwhile, landis under increasing pressurefor housing, renewable energyinfrastructure and naturerestoration.Without an updated ALCsystem incorporating accurateassessments of agriculturalland quality, there is a real riskthat irreversible decisions willbe made about land use thatcompromise the nation’s ability toproduce its own food.
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