Fire and Rescue Services: Occupational Health
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with the Fire Brigades Union on the implementation of health monitoring for firefighters.
Answered by Mrs Sharon Hodgson
On 16 April 2026, the Department announced its intention to co-produce a Firefighters’ Concordat on Health and Wellbeing, to develop a bespoke health monitoring offer for firefighters, and to undertake new research to improve understanding of the long-term health risks firefighters face and the most effective forms of support. The Concordat will be jointly designed and developed with the sector, bringing together national and local Government, the National Health Service, fire chiefs, employers, the Fire Brigades Union and firefighters themselves. This work is being taken forward through the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) on Fire and Rescue Reform.
The health monitoring offer will be developed in partnership with the NHS, alongside the MAG, and with firefighters and their representatives, employers, clinicians, public health and occupational health experts, and relevant national bodies. The MAG will provide a mechanism to maintain shared oversight as the offer is designed, tested and refined.
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