Defra Has No Current Plans to Review Heather Burning Rules - Parliamentary Questions for 2–8 November 2026
Quick summary
Defra has no current plans to review England’s 2025 heather and grass burning rules.
Ministers cited £45 million for wildfire teams and equipment but gave no figure for vegetation reduction.
RAF firefighting kit for the A400M Atlas will be ready for the 2027 wildfire season.
Defra refused to extend its two-month call for evidence on gamebird release and shooting.
Defra has told Parliament it has no current plans to review England’s 2025 heather and grass burning rules or assess their impact now they are in force. The two replies were among 16 written answers on moorland management in the week to 8 November.
Burning rules and wildfire risk
In October, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee asked ministers to set out any assessment of the restrictions’ likely effect on wildfire risk. If ministers had made none before the rules took effect, the committee called for one to be commissioned and published within three months.
On 6 November, Baroness Hayman of Ullock said Defra administers the rules, with Natural England consulted on licence applications and fire and rescue services advising where appropriate. Her reply left open whether Defra had discussed changing the restrictions with Natural England, as Lord Roborough had asked.
On 3 November, Jenny Riddell-Carpenter told Sir Julian Smith that Defra continues to monitor evidence on burning and peatland recovery.
Wildfire funding and National Park plans
Richard Holden asked for a breakdown of October’s wildfire funding. Florence Eshalomi cited up to £45 million for specialist teams and protective equipment in England and a further £25 million in peatland restoration grants. She gave no figure for reducing the vegetation that can feed wildfires.
The Government is also updating its farm funding to cover prevention work such as fire ponds, firebreaks, vegetation management, grazing and scrub removal. Eshalomi added, “Land managers, landowners and farmers have an important role in reducing wildfire risk.”
Defra told Rebecca Smith that National Park Authorities had agreed to include wildfire management when they revise their plans. Their joint statement lists vegetation fuel loads and controlled burning as issues to consider. Defra left open whether the plans would set fuel reduction targets, assess cutting, grazing and controlled burning, or be in place before spring 2027.
In a separate reply to Holden, Eshalomi gave no date for publishing the October Wildfire Resilience Summit’s agenda or attendee list. She said “the Government does not publish minutes of such meetings”.
RAF firefighting kit for the 2027 season
The RAF is buying firefighting equipment for the A400M Atlas. Defence minister Luke Pollard told Ben Obese-Jecty it would be available for the 2027 wildfire season. He gave no kit numbers or details of when crews would finish training or how they would qualify.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the Ministry of Defence is responsible for buying and funding the A400M and Chinook firefighting kits.
The Ministry of Defence told Pippa Heylings it holds 12 Bambi Buckets in the UK and Cyprus. The buckets hang beneath helicopters to drop water on fires. The housing department holds no central count of the buckets available for wildfire response because fire and rescue services arrange private aircraft locally.
Gamebird call for evidence
Defra turned down requests from two organisations to extend its call for evidence on gamebird release, shooting and welfare during rearing in England. Baroness Hayman of Ullock told Lord Douglas-Miller that Defra considered two months a reasonable period for people to respond.
Robbie Moore asked how the timing and format might affect the number and quality of responses from rural workers. Defra repeated its view on the two-month window and gave no assessment of the effect on those responses.
Other written answers
Wildfire damage to homes. The housing department told Sir Julian Smith it holds no figures for homes damaged or destroyed by wildfires in England since 2020. A wildfire that spreads to a home is logged as a dwelling fire.
Restoring deep peat. Michael Shanks told Elsie Blundell that planning permissions set out what developers must do when energy infrastructure is taken out of service. For nationally significant projects his department decides, applicants must avoid deep peat where possible and submit plans for restoring the site.
Farm scheme spending. Asked by Victoria Atkins for the cost of current agreements, Defra gave spending for 2025/26. It spent £738 million on the Sustainable Farming Incentive, £887 million on agri-environment schemes including Countryside Stewardship and older Environmental Stewardship agreements, and £25 million on Landscape Recovery. Figures for 2026/27 are due around September 2027.
Bonfire safety. Asked by Alex Mayer about updated guidance ahead of 5 November, the housing department pointed to its existing Fire Kills advice.
Questions due on 10 November
Wildfire risk assessment. Kevin Hollinrake asks whether Defra assessed the rules’ likely effect on wildfire risk before they took effect.
Advice to ministers. Hollinrake asks when ministers approved the rules and what wildfire risk advice they received.
Frequency of wildfires. Hollinrake asks for the evidence that repeated controlled burns on moorland make wildfires more frequent.
Fire chiefs’ advice. Bob Blackman asks how ministers considered including the National Fire Chiefs Council’s advice in the Explanatory Memorandum.
Carbon emissions. Aphra Brandreth asks what evidence supported the expectation of lower carbon emissions and whether it took emissions from wildfires into account.
