Official Statistics

Fire prevention and protection statistics, England, April 2022 to March 2023

Published 24 August 2023

Applies to England and Wales

Frequency of release: Annual

Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar

Home Office responsible statistician: Helene Clark

Press enquiries: 0300 123 3535

Public enquiries: [email protected]

This release contains statistics from administrative sources about prevention and protection activities carried out by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), and their partners, in England for the year ending March 2023. Patterns of prevention and protection activity in the comparator year (year ending March 2022) were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions. There was a large reduction in the number of Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSCs) in year ending March 2021, due to lockdowns and social restrictions in response to COVID-19. To account for the effect of lockdown and social restrictions in 2021, this release compares the data for year ending March 2023 with the years ending March 2022 and 2020.

Key results

In year ending March 2023, FRSs and their partners completed 537,081 Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSCs). This was an increase of 22% compared with the previous year ending March 2022 (440,624), but a decrease of 8.8% compared with year ending March 2020 (pre-pandemic, 588,666).

There were 50,424 fire safety audits completed in year ending March 2023, of which 31,976 (63%) had a satisfactory outcome recorded. The number of audits was the highest since year ending March 2017.

The amount of non-statutory fire safety activity (other fire safety activity) increased to the highest levels in year ending March 2023, with 140,412 undertaken.

1. Fire prevention

Fire and rescue services (FRSs) undertake domestic fire prevention activities, which provide information and advice to households to encourage fire safety behaviours. These educate people on steps to take to prevent the occurrence of a fire and reduce their risk of serious injury or death in a fire, should one occur.

This section focuses on Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSCs), Safe and Well visits (SWVs) and smoke alarm ownership. HFSCs are known by a variety of names, including Home Fire Safety Visits and Home Fire Risk Checks; however, in this release they are referred to as HFSCs.

In 2004, it became a statutory duty for FRSs to undertake fire prevention activity, with the introduction of the Fire and Rescue Services Act. Typical prevention activities include: HFSCs, SWVs, arson prevention, educational work with young people and other vulnerable groups, as well as other fire prevention campaigns and initiatives. The Home Office stopped collecting data on campaigns and initiatives in 2018, to reduce the burden on FRSs. The previous statistics on campaigns and initiatives are available in FIRE1203.

HFSCs aim to offer bespoke domestic fire safety advice based on their household and lifestyle, which might mitigate the risk of fire. These are often targeted towards the more vulnerable members of the community, including older people and disabled people. These visits can result in the installation of smoke alarms and safety recommendations, such as moving or removing furniture which may be hazardous.

SWVs are a broader type of HFSC, as they also cover additional factors such as fall risk assessment, smoking cessation, cold homes and fuel poverty and a range of other health and community issues depending on local arrangements. In the Home Office data collection, and therefore these statistics, SWVs are considered a subset of HFSCs.

FRS partners includes organisations and sectors such as: Home Improvement Services, Education, Social Services, Voluntary Sector, Housing, Primary Care Trusts.

Key results

In year ending March 2023:

• FRSs and their partners completed 537,081 HFSCs, which was a 22% increase on year ending March 2022, but an 8.8% decrease compared with year ending March 2020 (pre-pandemic) Source: FIRE1201

• FRSs and their partners completed 305,654 SWVs, a 21% increase on year ending March 2022, but a 9.0% decrease on year ending March 2020 (pre-pandemic) Source: FIRE1201

• FRSs and their partners completed 300,202 of HFSCs targeted at people aged 65 years and over and/or disabled, which accounted for 56% of HFSCs Source: FIRE1201

• 93% of households owned a working smoke alarm in financial year 2021 to 2022, a 0.8 percentage point decrease compared with the previous financial year (94%), but a 2.1 percentage point increase compared with 2019 to 2020 (91%) Source: FIRE0701

Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSCs) and Safe and Well Visits (SWVs^{[footnote 1]})

The number of HFSCs completed in England by FRSs and partners was on a general downward trend, since the data were first collected in year ending March 2011. There was a large reduction in year ending March 2021, due to lockdowns and social restrictions in response to COVID-19. Subsequently, numbers increased, with HFSC numbers in year ending March 2023 rising to 537,081, though this remained 8.8% lower than the pre-pandemic level (year ending March 2020, 588,666).

The Home Office collects data on 2 vulnerability categories: people aged over 65 years and over and disabled people. Similar to the total number of HFSCs, the number of HFSCs targeted at these 2 groups of people decreased, reaching a low in year ending March 2021, due to COVID-19 restrictions (149,368). Subsequently, the number of these targeted HFSCs has increased to 300,202 in the year ending March 2023, but remains below pre-pandemic levels (year ending March 2020, 370,987).

As SWVs are a subset of HFSCs, these have followed a similar trend to the overall HFSC numbers. In the year ending March 2023, there were 305,654 SWVs completed, a 21% increase on the previous year, but a 9.0% decrease on the year ending March 2020 (pre-pandemic).

In the year ending March 2021, the restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in HFSCs and SWVs being conducted virtually. Since the easing of restrictions, the proportion of HFSCs completed face-to-face has increased, with 95% in year ending March 2022 and 98% in the year ending March 2023.

Targeting of HFSCs

A total of 391,490 HFSCs or 73%, were targeted at households that had at least one person with at least one vulnerability or risk factor in the year ending March 2023. The proportion was the same as the previous year. This metric for HFSCs targeting was only included in the data collection since the year ending March 2021. This metric is the total number of targeted HFSCs; however 3 specific sub-categories are published.

For the targeting of HFSCs in the year ending March 2023:

• 134,237 were targeted at households with at least one person aged 65 years and over, accounting for 25% of total HFSCs

• 125,464 were targeted at households with at least one person aged 65 years and over, and one disabled person, accounting for 23% of total HFSCs

• 40,501 were targeted at households with at least one disabled person, with all residents aged 65 years and under, accounting for 7.5% of total HFSCs

• 91,288 were targeted at other vulnerabilities for which the detail on the categorisation was not collected, accounting for 17% of total HFSCs

• 145,591 were not targeted at people deemed ‘vulnerable’ or ‘at risk’, accounting for 27% of total HFSCs

Over the last 5 years, the level of targeting of HFSCs has varied. For the HFSCs targeted at people aged 65 years and over and/or disabled, the proportion has decreased from 63% before the pandemic in the year ending March 2020 (370,987 HFSCs) to 56% in the year ending March 2023 (300,202 HFSCs). The reduction has largely been in the category for at least one person aged 65 years and over but no disabled person in the household, a 32% decrease in the number of HFSCs and an 8.6 percentage point reduction in the proportion.

Figure 1.1: Total numbers of HFSCs and targeted HFSCs completed by FRSs in England, year ending March 2011 to year ending March 2023

Notes:

1. The person aged 65 years and over and disabled person categories in the chart above are not mutually exclusive. This means that a person aged 65 years and over and a disabled person would be counted in both of the targeting categories in this chart.

Staff carrying out HFSCs and SWVs

Data on the number and role of staff carrying out face to face HFSCs and SWVs were first collected in year ending March 2019, and this is the fourth year that the data are of sufficient quality for publication.

In year ending March 2023:

• an average of 2.3 staff carried out each HFSC, with 84% of staff conducting HFSCs being firefighters, which was similar to the previous year

• an average of 2.2 staff carried out each SWV, with 81% of staff conducting SWVs being firefighters, with the proportion being higher than the previous year (78%)

More information on the number of staff carrying out Home Fire Safety Checks and Safe and Well Visits by staff role can be found in FIRE1201 in sheet FIRE1201c.

Smoke alarm ownership

Data on the proportion of households with a smoke alarm have been collected since the 1980s from a variety of sources, and data on ownership of a working smoke alarm have been collected from 2001. Since financial year 2008 to 2009 the English Housing Survey (EHS) has been the primary source of information on smoke alarm ownership. The exact questions asked change each year but have previously included ownership of a smoke alarm, ownership of a working smoke alarm, smoke alarm testing habits and carbon monoxide alarm ownership.

Figure 1.2 shows that 93% of households reported owning a working smoke alarm in financial year 2021 to 2022. This proportion has steadily increased from 87% in financial year 2011 to 2012. However, over one-fifth (21%) of those surveyed reported they had never tested their smoke alarm. More information on the EHS, and the change in method during COVID-19 is available in the Further Information section.

Figure 1.2: Percentage of households owning a smoke alarm or working smoke alarm, England and Wales, 1988 to financial year 2021 to 2022 (Source: EHS)

The imputed values in the chart above have been estimated by the Home Office, as figures were not available, as the exact questions on the EHS change each year.

2. Fire protection

Fire protection refers to FRSs’ statutory role in ensuring public safety in the wider built environment. This involves auditing and, where necessary, enforcing regulatory compliance, primarily but not exclusively in respect of the provisions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). The FSO applies to the majority of non-domestic premises and communal areas in residential buildings. This section of the release specifically focuses on fire safety audits and short audits. Definitions for the main fire protection activities are provided below, with more information provided in the Further Information section.

Fire safety audit is a planned visit by an FRS to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the level of compliance with the requirements of the FSO in a particular premises. There is a requirement for fire risk assessments to be regularly conducted and reviewed, to reduce the risks to employees and other users of the buildings.

Short audits are an initial evaluation of the fire safety of a building. It was designed by the sector to support better regulation, by enabling FRSs to focus enforcement resources more effectively on higher risk premises.

Key results

In year ending March 2023:

• FRSs carried out 50,424 fire safety audits - the highest since year ending March 2017 Source: FIRE1202

• 63% of audits had a satisfactory outcome, which was lower than the previous year (65% in year ending March 2022), and lower than before the pandemic (66% in year ending March 2020) Source: FIRE1202

• the most common type of premises to be audited was shops with 10,803 audits (21% of all fire safety audits) Source: FIRE1202

• the average time spent on audits was 4.9 hours, which is the longest in the time series Source: FIRE1202

Number of fire safety audits

Since year ending March 2011, there has been a general decline in the number of fire safety audits that FRSs complete. However, the decrease in year ending March 2021 was likely due to COVID-19 restrictions. Subsequently, the number of audits increased, and in the year ending March 2023, there were 50,424 audits - the highest since year ending March 2017. The number of audits in the year ending March 2023 was 5.0% higher than the year ending March 2022 (48,018) and 4.2% higher than the pre-pandemic level in year ending March 2020 (48,414).

Figure 2.1: Proportion of fire safety audits deemed satisfactory or unsatisfactory conducted by FRSs in England, year ending March 2017 to year ending March 2023

Similar to previous years, excluding the year ending March 2021, shops were the premise type with the highest number of audits. There were 10,803 audits conducted in shops in year ending March 2023, equivalent to 21%, with the number of audits in shops increasing by 19% on year ending March 2022, and 37% on year ending March 2020.

There were also large increases in audit numbers at other non-residential locations, when compared to year ending March 2022 for:

• hospitals increasing by 53% to 781

• care homes increasing by 39% to 5,798

• hotels increasing by 20% to 3,643

These 3 premise types are all considered more complex building types, as evidenced by the average time spent on audits. The average for all premise types was 4.9 hours, compared with 5.4 hours for hospitals, 5.7 hours for care homes and 5.3 hours for hotels.

For purpose-built flats with over 4 storeys, the number of audits decreased by 49%, to 3,274 compared to the previous year. This was the lowest number since year ending March 2017.

Figure 2.2: Total number of fire safety audits by FRSs, by grouped building types in England, for years ending March 2020, 2022, and 2023 (ordered by year ending March 2023 figures)

Notes:

Premises types in the chart above are categorised as follows:

1. Flats and HMOs: purpose-built flats (all height categories), houses converted to flats and HMOs.
2. Other accommodation: hotels, hostels and other sleeping accommodation.
3. Factories, warehouses and offices: factories, warehouses and offices.
4. Public building and other: public buildings, hospitals, schools, further education, other premises open to the public and other unspecified premises.

The year ending March 2021 has been excluded from the chart, due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions.

Time Spent on Audits

Table 2.1 provides the number of audits, hours spent and average hours for all audits and by outcome (satisfactory or unsatisfactory). For the year ending March 2023, the average time spent on all audits has increased, compared to years ending March 2022 and 2020 (pre-pandemic). The increase in time spent on audits likely reflects the changing mix of premises types audited, especially as more ‘complex’ premises types were audited in year ending March 2023. The increase in average time spent on audits also partly reflects the increase in the number and time spent on unsatisfactory audits. The average time spent on unsatisfactory audits was greater than satisfactory audits by 1.6 hours in year ending March 2023.

Table 2.1: Total number of hours spent on audits, by type of audit, England, comparing the year ending March 2023 with one and 3 years previously

Audit Outcome	Year ending March 2023	Year ending March 2022	One-year change	Year ending March 2020	3-year change
Satisfactory audit: Numbers	31,976	31,350	+2.0%	31,978	+0.0%
Satisfactory audit: Hours	136,505	135,622	+0.7%	114,045	+20%
Satisfactory Average Hours	4.3	4.3	-1.3%	3.6	+20%
Unsatisfactory audit: Numbers	18,448	16,668	+11%	16,436	+12%
Unsatisfactory audit: Hours	108,324	94,381	+15%	97,991	+11%
Unsatisfactory Average Hours	5.9	5.7	+3.7%	6.0	-1.5%
Total audits: Numbers	50,424	48,018	+5.0%	48,414	+4.2%
Total Audits: Hours	244,829	230,003	+6.4%	212,036	+15%
Total Average Hours	4.9	4.8	+1.4%	4.4	+11%

In year ending March 2023:

• purpose-built flats 6 to 9 storeys had the longest average time spent on audits, comprising an average of 6.5 hours, 1.6 hours above the overall average

• houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) had the shortest average time spent on audits, comprising of an average of 4.1 hours, 0.7 hours below the overall average

Outcome of fire safety audits

When a fire safety audit is completed, the result is categorised as either satisfactory, when no further action is taken, or unsatisfactory, when the responsible person is non-compliant with the FSO.

The premises type with the greatest proportion of satisfactory audits was public buildings, at 75% of the 401 audits. Meanwhile, the premises types with the lowest satisfactory rates were houses converted to flats (47% of 731 audits) and Houses of Multiple Occupation (29% of 1,081 audits).

Figure 2.3: Proportion of fire safety audits deemed satisfactory or unsatisfactory, by grouped building types, England, year ending March 2023 (ordered by per cent satisfactory)

Notes:

Premises types in the chart above are categorised as follows:

1. Flats and HMOs: purpose-built flats (all height categories), houses converted to flats and HMOs.
2. Other accommodation: hotels, hostels and other sleeping accommodation.
3. Factories, warehouses and offices: factories, warehouses and offices.
4. Public building and other: public buildings, hospitals, schools, further education, other premises open to the public and other unspecified premises.

3. Other Fire Safety Activity

In addition to fire safety audits, FRSs complete other activities to promote fire safety and support building safety consultations. This section summarises this activity with the supporting data available in FIRE1202 in particular FIRE1202c.

Non-statutory fire safety activity - all fire safety activity generated by requests from others, i.e. approaches from other agencies or bodies (for example, Ofsted), the public, and business representatives as well as any FSO related promotional or awareness raising activities generated within the FRA.

Building regulation consultations - consultations completed or supported under Building Regulations to support understanding, awareness and compliance with FSO. Building Regulations are statutory consultations with FRSs by building control bodies under article 45 and 46 of the FSO.

Other consultations - statutory consultations with FRAs in accordance with the requirements of articles 45 and 46 of the FSO.

Key results

In year ending March 2023:

• FRSs carried out 47,702 building regulation consultations, an increase on the previous year (46,699), but below pre-pandemic levels (50,812 in the year ending March 2020)

• FRSs carried out 24,486 other consultations, slightly lower than the previous year (25,295), but above pre-pandemic levels (21,554 in the year ending March 2020)

• FRSs carried out 140,412 non-statutory fire safety activities, which was 37% higher than the previous year (102,724) and 68% higher than pre-pandemic levels (83,348 in the year ending March 2020).

Consultations

A total of 47,702 building regulation consultations were completed in year ending March 2023, a 2.1% increase on the previous year, but a 6.1% decrease on the year ending March 2020. However, the average time spent on this activity was broadly the same in each of the 3 years (years ending March 2022, March 2020) between 1.7 and 1.8 hours per consultation. The most building regulation consultations were completed for shops (8,237), accounting for 17%.

There were 24,486 other consultations, which was 3.2% lower than the previous year, but 14% higher than year ending March 2020. The average time spent on these consultations was 1.1 hours. Licensed premises were the location for 21% of these consultations (5,240).

Non-statutory fire safety activities

There were 140,412 non-statutory fire safety activities in the year ending March 2023, an increase of 37% on the previous year and an increase of 68% on the year ending March 2020. The total number of hours on this activity increased by 4.1% on the previous year to 143,397 hours. However, the average time spent on these activities has decreased over time, with an average time spent of 1.0 hours in the year ending March 2023, compared to 1.3 hours in the year ending March 2022, and 1.5 hours in the year ending March 2020.

The premises type with the largest proportion (24%) of non-statutory fire safety activities was shops, with 33,331. However, there were also nearly 20,000 of these activities categorised with a premise type of other, covering building types that are not stated.

Table 3.1: Total number of hours spent on consultations and non-statutory fire safety activities, by fire safety activity, England, comparing the year ending March 2023 with one and 3 years previously

Activity Type	Year ending March 2023	Year ending March 2022	One-year change	Year ending March 2020	3-year change
Building regulations consultations: hours	82,753	86,154	-3.9%	90,340	-8.4%
Other consultations: hours	26,604	27,362	-2.8%	26,469	+0.5%
Non-statutory fire safety activities: hours	143,397	137,788	+4.1%	125,487	+14%

4. Formal and Informal Notifications

When an audit outcome is unsatisfactory, agreed action plans known as formal notifications or informal notifications may be issued. Formal notifications are issued in the most serious of cases where less formal action has failed to resolve issues of non-compliance. Definitions of the different formal and informal notification categories within the FSO are provided below. The data on notifications and non-compliance are published in FIRE1202 and FIRE1204.

Informal notification - these can be issued instead of a formal notice when an outcome is unsatisfactory and the risk to relevant persons is not significant, and the responsible person is willing to comply.

Enforcement notices (Article 30) - these are served if the enforcing authority is of the opinion that the responsible person has failed to comply with any provision of the FSO or of any regulations made under it.

Prohibition notices (Article 31) - these are served on the responsible person or any other person, if the enforcing authority is of the opinion that use of premises involves or will involve a risk to relevant persons so serious that use of the premises ought to be prohibited or restricted.

Alteration notices (Article 29) - these are served on the responsible person if the enforcing authority is of the opinion that the premises constitutes a serious risk to relevant persons (whether due to the features of the premises, their use, any hazard present, or any other circumstances); or may constitute such a risk if a change is made to them or the use to which they are put.

Prosecutions (Article 32) - these are convictions for failure to comply with an alteration, enforcement or prohibition notice, or any other matter for which it is an offence under Article 32.

Key results

In year ending March 2023:

• 16,879 informal notices were issued, the highest since year ending March 2014 Source: FIRE1202

• 2,541 formal notices were issued, the highest since year ending March 2014 Source: FIRE1202

There were 16,879 informal notices issued in the year ending March 2023, an increase of 7.8% on the previous year and 28% higher than the year ending March 2020 (pre-pandemic). The most informal notices were issued to shops (3,264) accounting for 19%.

There were 2,541 formal notices issued in year ending March 2023, an increase of 13% on year ending March 2022 and an increase of 11% on year ending March 2020 (pre-pandemic). Shops received the most formal notices (603), around a quarter (24%) of all those issued. The most common type of formal notice was enforcement notice under Article 30, with 1,363 issued accounting for 54% of all formal notifications.

Figure 4.1: Fire safety notices resulting from unsatisfactory fire safety audits (informal and formal) issued in England, year ending March 2017 to year ending March 2023

5. Summary of changes over time

Table 5.1: Number of prevention visits, comparing the year ending March 2023 with one, and 3 years previously

Visit Type	Year ending March 2023	Year ending March 2022	One-year change	Year ending March 2020	3-year change
Home Fire Safety Checks	537,081	440,624	+22%	588,666	-8.8%
Safe and Well Visits	305,654	252,966	+21%	335,760	-9.0%

Table 5.2: Number of audits and outcomes, comparing the year ending March 2023 with one, and 3 years previously

Audit Type	Year ending March 2023	Year ending March 2022	One-year change	Year ending March 2020	3-year change
Total Audit (Number)	50,424	48,018	+5.0%	48,414	+4.2%
Total Audits (Hours)	244,829	230,003	+6.4%	212,036	+15%
Satisfactory Audit (Number)	31,976	31,350	+2.0%	31,978	+0.0%
Satisfactory Audit (Hours)	136,505	135,622	+0.7%	114,045	+20%
Unsatisfactory Audit (Number)	18,448	16,668	+11%	16,436	+12%
Unsatisfactory Audit (Hours)	108,324	94,381	+15%	97,991	+11%

Table 5.3: Number of informal and formal notifications, comparing the year ending March 2023 with one, and 3 years previously

Notification Type	Year ending March 2023	Year ending March 2022	One-year change	Year ending March 2020	3-year change
Informal Notifications	16,879	15,656	+8%	13,184	+28%
Formal notifications	2,541	2,254	+13%	2,295	+11%
Enforcement notices	1,363	1,518	-10%	1,347	+1%
Prohibition Notices	926	610	+52%	788	+18%
Alteration Notices	228	92	+148%	108	+111%
Prosecutions	24	34	-29%	52	-54%

Note that enforcement notices, prohibition notices, alteration notices and prosecutions are all sub-types of formal notifications.

Further information

This release contains administrative statistics about prevention and protection activities carried out by fire and rescue services (FRSs) in England. This publication also incorporates data and analysis from the English Housing Survey.

Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics and other Home Office statistical releases are available from the Statistics at Home Office pages on the GOV.UK website.

Data tables linked to this release and all other fire statistics releases can be found on the Home Office’s ‘Fire statistics data tables’ page. The sections above state the most relevant tables for each section. The tables can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables

Guidance for using these statistics and other fire statistics outputs is available on the fire statistics collection page, found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-statistics-guidance

The information published in this release is kept under review, taking into account the needs of users and burdens on suppliers and producers, in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. If you have any comments, suggestions or enquiries, please contact the team via email using [email protected] or via the user feedback form on the fire statistics collection page.

Fire Protection Additional Information

Fire Safety Audits

A fire safety audit is a planned visit by an FRS to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the level of compliance with the requirements of the FSO in a particular premises. The FSO requires a ‘responsible person’ for a workplace or premises to which the public have access, to carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment to ensure that the general fire precautions are adequate and appropriate, to reduce the risk from fire to employees and other relevant persons to as low as reasonably practicable. The FSO applies to the majority of non-domestic premises and the communal areas in residential buildings.

It is a matter for FRSs to determine how many audits they carry out per year, but they must have a locally determined risk-based inspection programme and management strategy in place for enforcing the FSO.

Short Audits

Since 2016, FRSs have had the option of using the short audit form, designed by the sector to support the principles of better regulation, and allow FRSs to focus their enforcement resources more effectively on higher risk premises.

A short audit may record an ‘unsatisfactory’ outcome, where non-compliances are found that require attention but are not judged to reach the formal enforcement threshold. These may be dealt with by means of an informal Fire Safety Matters letter, which may or may not require a follow-up inspection. Failure to comply with a Fire Safety Matters letter may be escalated to formal enforcement.

It is expected that the number of audits on different premises types in individual FRSs will vary from year to year depending on the local need, targeting strategies and the complexity of the specific buildings being audited. In addition, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government set out an ambition in Parliament on 5 September 2019 to ‘significantly increase the pace of inspection activity across high rise residential and other high risk buildings’. It has been supported by the allocation of 6 million pounds in additional funding to FRSs alongside the 10 million pounds in the Protection Uplift grant.

COVID-19

In the latest year of data (year ending March 2023), there were no restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there were some effects of the restrictions in comparator years.

Patterns of prevention and protection activity in the year ending March 2021 were substantially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and government guidance to limit social contact. In the year ending March 2022, prevention and protection activity started to recover from levels seen in the year ending March 2021. However, remained below pre-pandemic levels, given that many restrictions remained in place until July 2021. Therefore, this release provides comparisons to year ending March 2022 (the previous year) and to year ending March 2020 (pre-pandemic).

During the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the year ending March 2021, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) published a series of position statements on Prevention strategic intentions, which took into account the COVID-19 management measures in place. The most recent statement can be found here. These statements resulted in a halt to face-to-face (or over the threshold) HFSCs in the first lockdown and a transition to virtual HFSCs and limited face to face visits throughout the remainder of the year. The Home Office collected the number of virtual (online or telephone) HFSCs.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in year ending March 2021, the National Fire Chiefs Council published Guidance on carrying out desktop appraisals. Where a remote desktop appraisal of fire safety measures has been carried out and recorded in accordance with Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) Short Audit guidance, and there are no outstanding fire safety issues, this activity has been recorded in FRS returns. In the year ending March 2021 as a result of the pandemic, desktop appraisals were included in the total number of short audits in the release and accompanying tables.

English Housing Survey (EHS) during COVID-19

The EHS continued to be conducted through the COVID-19 pandemic, though necessitated a change in the survey method during the years ending March 2021 and March 2022. The face-to-face interviews were replaced by telephone interviews, with internal inspections replaced by external ones and analysis of administrative data. Testing of the changes to the survey were not possible, so it is not clear in the EHS whether changes observed in year ending March 2021 were ‘real’ changes or a reflection of the change in method. Further, the composition of the EHS sample significantly altered in year ending March 2021compared with year ending March 2020, for example more outright owners and fewer renters, more households with older people and fewer households with children. Further detail on the changes to the EHS and the impact of COVID-19, can be found in the headline report^{[footnote 2]}.

Other related publications

Home Office publish 5 other statistical releases covering fire and rescue services.

These include:

• fire and rescue incident statistics, England provides statistics on trends in fires, casualties, false alarms and non-fire incidents attended by fire and rescue services in England, updated quarterly

• detailed analysis of fires attended by fire and rescue services in England: focuses on fires attended by fire and rescue services across England, and fire-related fatalities and non-fatal casualties in those fires; including analyses of the causes of fires and smoke alarms ownership and operation

• detailed analysis of non-fire incidents attended by fire and rescue services, England: focuses on non-fire incidents attended by fire and rescue services across England, including analysis on overall trends, fatalities and non-fatal casualties in non-fire incidents, and further detailed analysis of different categories of non-fire incidents

• fire and rescue workforce and pensions statistics: focuses on total workforce numbers, workforce diversity and information regarding leavers and joiners; covers both pension fund income and expenditure and firefighters’ pension schemes membership; and includes information on incidents involving attacks on firefighters

• response times to fires attended by fire and rescue services, England: covers statistics on trends in average response times to fires attended by fire and rescue services

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) publish one statistical release on fire:

• the English housing survey: fire and fire safety report: focuses on the extent to which the existence of fire and fire safety features vary by household and dwelling type

Fire statistics are published by the other UK nations:

Statistics for Scotland and Wales are published. Northern Ireland fire statistics are published by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems, or have any feedback, relating to accessibility please email us at [email protected]

1. For more detailed information on Safe and Well visits see the NFCC website ↩

2. English Housing Survey: headline report ↩