Nick Thomas-Symonds

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Parliament's party history for this member: Labour (7 May 2015 – present).

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1. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Prostate Cancer Screening

   Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

   Hansard source
2. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Prostate Cancer Screening

   The hon. Gentleman speaks powerfully on behalf of his constituents in Scotland; I have had many emails on this issue from my constituents in Wales. Does he agree that when it comes to testing, all men are at high risk? It should happen not just in England but all around the United Kingdom.

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3. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Civil Service Pensions

   Only on Friday, I spoke to a constituent who gave notice of retirement in March and still has not had his pensions quote. I commend the Minister very much on the very hard work she put in over the summer, after the actions I took and the statement that I made to the House in July. Looking to the future of the scheme, can she assure me that she will direct officials to do the preparatory work to make sure that the different insourcing options are viable ones that we can put to the House?

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4. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

   I beg to move, That this House has considered UK-Welsh Government co-operation on tackling wildfires. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mr Turner. This debate follows what has been an incredibly difficult summer for many people in my constituency. The wildfire began on the evening of 19 July, and it reignited on 10 August when it jumped a firebreak and travelled into a forestry, which put houses at risk. On 11 August, the South Wales fire and rescue service declared a major incident due to significant pressure on resources. On 13 August, a military aid to the civil authorities request was submitted by the South Wales fire and rescue service, and I commend the Secretary of State for Wales for agreeing to that request very swiftly. From 18 August, the fire was contained with tactical burns, firebreaks and the use of a helicopter, but the ground continued to smoulder until there was significant rainfall at the end of August. Frankly, the impact has been devastating. Data from the Copernicus fire emissions watch analysed by Save the Children revealed that Torfaen had the fourth highest intensity of carbon emissions per square kilometre in the world in July 2026. The smoke travelled as far as Cardiff in one direction and Gloucestershire in the other. It affected between 220 and 270 hectares of common land. Pasture, vegetation and peat were burned, with some areas likely to be damaged for years to come. I spoke to farmers who had livestock losses, disrupted water supplies, fencing damage, grazing management issues and loss of earnings. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said that damage to apparently remote land can affect drinking water, wildlife and communities beyond the immediate fire area. Twenty-one locations have been identified as needing immediate drainage improvements, and that needs to be done before ground stability work can be completed. On 14 August, South Wales fire and rescue service said that selected appliances recorded 296 mobilisations and well over 10,000 cumulative incident hours, and officers recorded 99 mobilisations and over 500 incident hours. At its height, the South Wales fire and rescue service was responding to 14 concurrent wildfires. Between 11 August and 1 September, it publicly reported 961 grass fires, including 115 wildfires and 26 category 3 wildfires, which shows the pressure on the fire service.

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5. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

   The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right about learning from best practice across the United Kingdom. I pay tribute to the firefighters of the South Wales fire and rescue service and the 22 other fire services around the country who came to Blaenavon’s aid in the summer. I also thank Torfaen county borough council, <span id="73WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="73WH"></span>Natural Resources Wales, Gwent police and the 110 military personnel who helped to combat the wildfires. I also recognise those from the Blorenge Commoners Association, local farmers, businesses and constituents who rallied together over the summer to tackle this devastating event. I also thank the Wales Office Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin), for visiting Torfaen recently and listening to the concerns of local people. I say first and foremost, as I thank all those on the frontline, that we have to learn the lessons of this summer. I am afraid such fires will become more frequent, and putting in place a proper, structured response for next summer will be crucial. “Fire and Rescue National Framework for Wales 2026” identifies climate change as likely to increase the incidence and severity of weather-related events, and it highlights the possibility of wildfire risk shifting or extending.

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6. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

   I am certainly keen to have very substantial results from both this debate and the summit. The right hon. Lady is absolutely right to highlight the importance of that support and its availability across the United Kingdom. In putting my speech together, I was assisted by local people. If I may, I will briefly quote some of them, because I think this is important. Anthony Watkins says: “Unlike in the North of England and Scotland, the Fire and Rescue Services in Wales have less experience of tackling wildfires in large areas of peatland. Coordinating training with experienced firefighters in England and Scotland would provide invaluable expertise to the Welsh Services”. Sara Warman argues for a new approach to land management. She asks the Welsh Government in particular to “work alongside land managers to develop a dedicated Welsh Wildfire Strategy, provide meaningful post-fire recovery support, review fuel-load management policies, strengthen emergency response capability, and formally recognise commoners and graziers as operational partners in both wildfire prevention and emergency response”. Indeed, co-operation—that word is in the motion—between the UK Government and the Welsh Government to equalise access to substantial recovery funding and resources is very important. At the moment, there are indeed disparities. To give an example, the permitted burning season in Wales is two weeks shorter than in England. Of course there will be distinctions, but the point, which has been made a couple of times now, about learning from best practice across the UK is absolutely crucial. In advance of today’s debate, I also spoke to the South Wales fire and rescue service, which said that<span id="74WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="74WH"></span> “we need a sustainable approach to specialist capability and surge funding, together with stronger land-management and cross-government planning.” The case I want to make today is about restoration, renewal and resilience. That extra support is needed very badly by my local community. I thank, first of all, Torfaen county borough council, which has already provided £50,000. We now need others to step up as well, and I will give one example. The North York Moors national park authority was awarded up to £3.2 million to recover from the devastating peat fires of 2025, through the nature for climate peatland grant scheme. The equivalent scheme in Wales is a lot smaller at the moment. It can award only about £10,000 to £250,000, so I urge the Welsh Government, in the first instance, to provide specific additional funding for the situation in Torfaen. Ministers in Cardiff Bay should look at how the money for the North York Moors national park authority was calculated, and provide fair funding for the peat fires that we have suffered in Torfaen. I know that the UK Government are holding a wildfire summit to look at all the issues and, as the Minister would expect, I will be pressing the UK Government to provide appropriate support as well. When the Minister winds up the debate, I hope she can commit to co-ordinating on a regular basis with the Welsh Government, to MPs with affected constituencies being able to attend the summit, and to making sure that those on the frontline who have been affected have their voices heard.

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7. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

   My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I could not agree with her more. On the voice of local people being heard, this is again Sara Warman from my constituency: “Wales needs a new approach. One that combines science with practical experience. One that recognises that every common is different. One that treats local land managers as partners, not obstacles. Unless these policies change, we risk creating greater fuel loads, more frequent wildfires, and escalating environmental and economic damage across the Welsh uplands.” We need to build that resilience, and action is needed to help prepare the common and other areas across Wales for the sad reality that this may happen again. That could be in the form of managing the land with wildfire prevention in mind; community training; the purchasing of wildfire-specific resources; aerial support to predict and prevent wildfires; or, frankly, up-to-date personal protective equipment for our firefighters, which is absolutely crucial.

   Hansard source
8. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

   I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Wildfire prevention requirements and broader environmental policy need to be aligned, but this is what the South Wales fire and rescue service said to me: “The scale, concurrency and duration of the response provide a strong evidence base for reviewing specialist wildfire assets, command capacity, logistics, communications, fire control and resilience and the mutual-aid arrangements.” We were very lucky to have help from fire services across the country, but we have to make it systematic. We need to have a plan in place for that. All those aspects need to be considered, and the views of people and the agencies involved should be central. In answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles), the time allotted at the summit for listening to local people is going to be hugely important. It is great that the Welsh wildfire summit is being held on 22 October, but the point has been put to me that, at the moment, we have only one representative from Blaenavon who can attend. They put a simple question to me: is it expected that two hours is a sufficient amount of time to solve the accumulation of failings for the people of Torfaen? I wonder whether, in putting together the programme for that day, the Welsh Government might be able to ensure that people’s voices are given sufficient time to be properly heard and considered. I want to give the Minister plenty of time to respond, but today has to be the start of a wider conversation that has to happen pretty urgently. The lessons that we need to learn from this summer have to be learned so that our plan is in place before next summer. I am sad to say that, given climate change, we are likely to see more of these wildfires, as we have seen in continental Europe and other areas. We need to look first at prevention, as we want to do all we can to stop these things happening in the first place. We then need to look at management. While people in my constituency did a remarkable job, doing their best throughout the summer, it was obvious that there was not the original plan in place that is needed to deal with the multiplicity of agencies that are involved. I know the Minister well, and I know she is very committed to the conversation that we need to have. I look forward to contributing to the debate in the weeks and months ahead, but let us make absolutely sure that it is a conversation with an end point and a set of conclusions that we then implement so that we are in a position to have a systematic approach next summer, with the Governments across the UK working together.

   Hansard source
9. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

   Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

   The Minister is absolutely right. If we look at the wildfire management in Torfaen, the military personnel were deployed by the UK Government and the Secretary of State for Wales. Obviously, areas such as land management are devolved to the Welsh Government. The Minister is absolutely right about the number of agencies, but does she agree that we need a cross-Government plan to make sure we get that co-ordination right?

   Hansard source
10. 13 Oct 2026·Parliament·Nick Thomas-Symonds

    Wildfires: UK-Welsh Government Co-operation

    Talking about people on the frontline, I am sure the Minister shares my horror that our firefighters did not have the personal protective equipment that they needed. I hope she will pass on to the relevant Minister as a matter of urgency that that is one practical thing that we really need to deal with.

    Hansard source

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