The Norfolk Urban Search and Rescue team has become a highly effective and much respected local asset in our region.

Based at Dereham (right here in the heart of Mid Norfolk), and being one of twenty specialist urban search and rescue teams established across the country following the September 11th terror attacks, it has brought much valued additional expertise and capacity to our local emergency services over recent years – strengthening the resilience of our emergency responses on a wide variety of issues including chemical leaks, flooding, water rescues, traffic accidents, coastal erosion, building collapses, body recovery and more.

That’s why I was so concerned to hear the news that it was one of five urban search and rescue teams that could be cut in the near future, and why I personally wrote to the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire earlier this year to highlight the strategic importance and value of the Dereham team, ask for clarification about any decisions that may have been made and ask that they look again to ensure everything that could be done to safeguard the Norfolk team service was done.

I also co-signed a joint-letter with several of my fellow Norfolk MPs to reiterate the importance of safeguarding the future of this vital local asset.

(To see more about that work, please click here)

I am delighted therefore to have received a response from the Minister explaining that, in light of representations from myself and those fellow Norfolk MPs, as well as MPs, Chief Fire Officers and the fire and rescue sector across the country, he has agreed to defer the proposed reduction of USAR teams for at least another year – to April 2025. The USAR grant will remain unchanged for both 2023/24 and 2024/25.

This is extremely positive news – and I understand that Home Office officials visited the team in Dereham just the other day, spending several hours with USAR staff and learning more about the vital work they do to support our local emergency services.

Rest assured, I will continue to work with Norfolk County Council, the Norfolk Urban Search and Rescue team and fellow Norfolk MPs and officials to ensure the value of this service is recognised at the very highest levels.

I look forward to visiting the Dereham team this summer as part of that work.