5. Will the Cabinet Secretary provide an update on work to prevent electrical fires? OAQ52682

I published in-depth research on domestic electrical fires in July. Our fire and rescue authorities are working with us and with Electrical Safety First to understand their causes and to help prevent them.

I was really pleased to see a recent report that shows that fires in Wales are now at an all-time low. The research shows that they have been steadily declining over recent years, and the fire and rescue services have done some fantastic work through education and community engagement, and that has played a major part in that. But I am concerned to see the report that domestic electrical fires have bucked that trend and have actually increased. That mainly includes fires that originated in electrical supply in homes, such as wiring, fuse boards and sockets. Cabinet Secretary, in light of that finding, I'm eager to know what obligations private landlords have to ensure that their properties are as safe as possible from domestic electrical fires?  

The Member will be aware of the provisions that have been made under the recent renting homes legislation, and it is our intention to ensure that those provisions are enforced. If the Member has any evidence they're not being enforced, then I would be very happy to take that forward with her. What I will say is this: we've seen a significant decline in fires in the domestic setting in Wales for a long time, and they are now at an all-time low. Sustaining the trend requires a full understanding of the changing risks of fire. Presiding Officer, Members will be aware that I made a written statement on this matter before the summer recess, in July. We're continuing to work with fire and rescue authorities to ensure that we have both the understanding of why fires are being caused and why there's been an increase in electrical fires, and also to ensure that we're able to take the enforcement work necessary to ensure that people are protected in their homes.  

Joyce Watson has covered most of the bases of this question with her supplementary question. I've also read the same report and I think it was interesting if you look at what is not causing this rise in domestic fires as much as what is causing it—e-cigarettes have been ruled out, an ageing population has been ruled out, and smoking. So, it's a very specific increase, from a low base admittedly, in one specific area of fire as a whole in Wales. This must come back to raising awareness and it must come back to education. This can't simply be left to firefighters, who often have to pick up the pieces when it comes to dealing with the fire at the end of it. I wonder if you could tell us a little bit more, Cabinet Secretary, about how you intend to raise awareness and how you intend to educate the population, possibly working with the Cabinet Secretary for Education, possibly from an earlier age to make sure that people are aware of the dangers of out-of-date electrical installations, of the dangers of out-of-date equipment, and of the need to make sure that there is monitoring going on in the home to make sure that we eliminate all the possible causes of domestic fires.  

I absolutely agree with that. We have for some time funded three fire and rescue authorities in Wales to provide home safety checks completely free to householders. These checks will cover all aspects of fire safety, as well as other hazards such as falls, and I understand that there are something like 60,000 such checks taking place each year, and that focuses on the greatest risk of fire in the home. But the wider point made by the Member for Monmouthshire I think is well made. We have seen a decrease in the incidence of domestic fires, and that means that we do now need to ensure that we can continue to work to inform the population of ways in which they can ensure that their risk is reduced still further. The role of firefighters and the fire authorities in doing so I think remains quite central to that, and we are pursuing conversations with the firefighters and with the fire authorities about how we can do that, including looking at the changing role of firefighters for the future.