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Pitt Report

I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the skill, expertise and, in some cases, bravery of our fire and rescue services in helping people when flooding strikes, and I am sure all Members would wish to applaud them for that. The fact is that a considerable number of fire and rescue services have built up their capability; they have bought boats and undertaken training, for example. The additional money I am now providing is to help ensure we make the best use of the assets, because there are quite a lot of boats around from various sources and we must ensure both that they are in the right place when they are needed and that there is the personnel with the training to use them. That is what we should focus our efforts on. Most people not unreasonably think that if they are in danger because of rising water and they ring 999, they can expect the fire and rescue service to come and help. That is what the fire and rescue service does—its overriding responsibility is to help people in trouble.