Heather Burning Carbon Impact, Wildfire Funding and the Action Plan: Parliamentary Questions, 26 October to 1 November 2026

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Quick summary

Defra holds no assessment of the burning regulations' net carbon impact and does not plan to publish one.
MHCLG set out up to £45 million for frontline wildfire capability ahead of the 2027 season.
Defra and MHCLG are developing an England Wildfire Action Plan, with no publication date given.
MHCLG holds no data on firefighters deployed to wildfires on RSPB-managed land.

Eight written questions on wildfire and fire management were answered this week, by Defra, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Cabinet Office. The most significant answer for moorland managers came from Defra, which said it holds no assessment of the net carbon impact of the Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021 and has no current plans to publish one.

Wildfire & Fire Management

Burning regulation, wildfire funding and the long-promised Wildfire Action Plan dominated the week. Most answers followed the Prime Minister's Wildfire Resilience Summit on 23 October, which ministers referred to repeatedly.

Controlled burning and carbon

David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat, Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) asked how Defra monitors the burning regulations' effect on carbon emissions from controlled burning and wildfires, and whether it will publish an assessment of the net impact.
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, answering for Defra on 30 October, said the department does not hold such an assessment. She said emissions from controlled burning and wildfires depend on many factors, which makes it hard to attribute changes to the Regulations, and that Defra does not currently plan to publish an assessment.

Wildfire Action Plan

David Chadwick also asked whether the cross-government Wildfire Action Plan will be published by the end of 2026. Defra (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, 30 October) said it and MHCLG are developing an England Wildfire Action Plan and will set out further details in the coming months. No date was given.
Defra pointed to practical action already under way: a new £25 million peatland restoration grant scheme and an updated Environmental Land Management capital offer covering measures such as fire ponds and fire breaks.
James Cartlidge (Conservative, South Suffolk) asked MHCLG whether it will publish a Wildfire Strategy and Action Plan with targets for reducing vegetation fuel loads. Florence Eshalomi, for MHCLG on 30 October, confirmed a Wildfire Action Plan for England will be published.
She said the detail will be developed with fire and rescue services, land managers and other partners. The answer did not address fuel load targets.

Funding and preparedness for 2027

James Cartlidge tabled four questions to MHCLG this week. Two of them, on mitigating wildfire risk in 2027 and on support for fire and rescue authorities facing wildfires worsened by excess vegetation, received near-identical answers from Florence Eshalomi on 30 October. They are covered once here.

MHCLG announced up to £45 million for England's frontline wildfire capability ahead of the 2027 season, including specialist teams and lightweight wildfire-specific protective equipment.
This is on top of £97 million already announced for National Resilience assets and equipment, including a pilot national wildfire response capability.
The department is also developing nationally coordinated aerial firefighting, working with the Met Office on forecasting and risk information, and cited £25 million for peatland restoration and land management measures to reduce vegetation and fuel loads.
The vegetation answer added that almost £1.95 billion is available to standalone fire and rescue authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement, with spending decided on local risk.

Both Defra and MHCLG cited the same £25 million peatland figure. Defra described it as a peatland restoration grant scheme; MHCLG linked it to restoration and land management measures that reduce fuel loads.

What Ministers Did Not Answer

Carbon assessment: Defra holds no assessment of the burning regulations' net carbon impact and does not currently plan to publish one (37562).
Action Plan timing: asked about publication by the end of 2026, Defra gave no date, only "the coming months" (37540). MHCLG gave no date either (36760).
Fuel load targets: MHCLG's answer on the Action Plan did not say whether it will include targets for reducing vegetation fuel loads (36760).
Firefighters on RSPB land: James Cartlidge asked how many firefighters were deployed to wildfires on RSPB-managed land in 2026. MHCLG (Florence Eshalomi, 28 October) said it holds no data on firefighters deployed to individual incidents, nor on land ownership or management at incident locations. It pointed to its published provisional wildfire data covering April 2010 to August 2026.
COBR briefing: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat, Westmorland and Lonsdale) asked whether the Prime Minister was briefed at COBRA on 12 August about wildfire smoke health effects and the likelihood of an ozone alert. Mark Ferguson, for the Cabinet Office on 26 October, declined to comment on the briefing.

Coming Up

These questions were tabled during the week and are awaiting an answer:

Lord Roborough (Conservative) asks what discussions the Government has had with Natural England on changing its restrictions on heather burning, referring to a Written Statement of 26 October (HLWS426).
Sir Julian Smith (Conservative, Skipton and Ripon) asks Defra whether it will conduct a post hoc impact assessment of the Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.
Sir Julian Smith asks the Cabinet Office whether the 23 October summit considered vegetation fuel loads and how to reduce them, and who was invited.
Richard Holden (Conservative, Basildon and Billericay) asks MHCLG how the 22 October wildfire resilience funding splits between firefighting, peatland restoration and other uses.
Robbie Moore (Conservative, Keighley and Ilkley) asks Defra about the timing and structure of its call for evidence on gamebird release, shooting and welfare during rearing.

Key Takeaway

Government is putting money into wildfire response and peatland restoration, but Defra holds no evidence on how the burning regulations affect carbon emissions and has no plans to assess it.