2. Will the Welsh Government make a statement on the recent spate of grass fires affecting communities across Wales? 196

Presiding Officer, I think Members across the whole Chamber will wish to join me in thanking all those firefighters from across Wales who have worked extraordinarily hard over the past weeks. Their commitment, their expertise, their skills have been tested in some very difficult circumstances. I have made a written statement on this matter already today and I think that Members across the whole Chamber will wish to take time to consider that and ensure that we do pass on our thanks to the firefighters who have been involved in fighting these grass fires over the last few weeks.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Further to your written statement today, I'd just like to stress the fact that my constituency, like many across Wales, has been scarred by a series of devastating fires over the past few days. Incidents have included a forestry fire near Llwydcoed, described as hundreds of metres wide, the Maerdy mountain fire and the Hirwaun ironworks.

Firstly, Cabinet Secretary, I join with you in paying tribute to the bravery and endurance of our firefighters who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe, but secondly, with the suggestion that many of these fires may have been started deliberately, how is the Welsh Government working to prioritise measures to counter this dangerous and potentially fatal activity?

Presiding Officer, I did visit firefighters on the duty watch in Tonypandy earlier today, and I spoke to them about the work they were doing across Wales and also to those firefighters from the south Wales area who had attended the fire on Saddleworth moor. I visited the station alongside Andrew Morgan, the leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, and we did discuss some of the wild fires that have affected the Member's constituency. I spoke to the firefighters who had worked up at Llwydcoed and around the site at Bryn Pica who had been working extraordinarily hard to keep that under control. I think we all owe these people a great debt of gratitude.

Presiding Officer, we do work with the fire service, the police and other partners to tackle deliberate grass fires at source. This means preventing them from happening in the first place by deterring those who may be thinking about getting involved. This encompasses a wide range of programmes, from general awareness raising to anti-arson patrols in high-risk areas, and tailored interventions with those who have offended or are at risk of doing so. The most intensive of these that we have long supported has a reoffending rate of under 5 per cent.

Cabinet Secretary, I do commend the written statement you made earlier today for concentrating on the prevention of fires and the work of the fire service and the other emergency services to raise awareness in schools and also just around the community about the dangers of starting fires. I think that's a really, really important part of their work, and we are seeing a lower incidence it seems now in terms of these fires. But also the public need to be aware that you can inadvertently start a fire by, for example, holding in a clumsy fashion a barbecue. You leave the area and it will be hours and hours later when a change in wind direction or whatever flares up and then you've got another grass fire. So, this is really, really important that we get this public education right, and I commend the efforts so far of the fire service.

I join the Member in commending those efforts as well. At the same time as investing in the education and public awareness that the Member for South Wales Central has referred to, it is also useful to point out that the fire service itself has invested heavily in specialist equipment and training to take on these fires. The firefighters I spoke to this morning have been working together with Natural Resources Wales, bringing significant resource to bear on the fires across Wales, from the south Wales Valleys to north Wales to Ceredigion. At the same time, we have invested in altering firefighting vehicles, lightweight protective gear for working in upland areas, and drones, which safely and quickly provide vital intelligence to inform firefighting decisions.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary.