Written question WQ86472

Between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2022, we provided almost £2.4m of funding to our Fire and Rescue Services to deliver a wide range of community fire safety activity, aimed at keeping people safe from fire in their homes, from arson in the community and wildfires. Some of that activity, where it is quantifiable, is illustrated below:

Number of Home Safety Checks

51,139

Number of young people attending a Phoenix Course (intensive intervention for those at risk of offending)

503

Number of young people attending a Reflect session (less intensive intervention around offending and anti-social behaviour)

3,133

Home Safety Checks are targeted according to known individual risk factors for fire, such as old age, living alone, disabilities, dementia and substance misuse. Building height makes no difference in this regard, so is not taken into account. Smoke alarms and other items of equipment which address these risks are fully funded by the Welsh Government and are therefore free of charge to householders. Overall, the programme we have in place in Wales is significantly more extensive and generous than those elsewhere in the UK.

All fires in Wales have reduced by almost 50% since 2009-10 and accidental dwelling fires by almost a quarter.