Matthew Pennycook defends wildfire alert as minister sets out plans for water bills and housing

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook defended the Government’s decision to issue a nationwide emergency alert over wildfire risk, after GB News Home and Security Editor Mark White challenged him over whether the system had been used appropriately.

“It devalues what this system is meant to be for,” White said, asking whether the situation on Friday constituted an emergency at all.

Pennycook rejected the suggestion outright. “I’m afraid I couldn’t disagree more,” he said, arguing the decision followed requests from fire and rescue services dealing with wildfires across the country, with 12 incidents still being responded to at the time of the interview. He said emergency alerts were intended to warn people about dangers to life or property, pointing to homes devastated by wildfires in Stourbridge. “It was an appropriate use of the alert,” he said.

Pressed by White on the content of the message, which included general fire safety advice on barbecues and discarded cigarettes rather than a simple instruction to avoid an area, Pennycook accepted the characterisation. “That’s absolutely right,” he said.

‘If that alert prevented the loss of one home… I think it was worth it’

Pennycook argued the potential benefit of the alert justified its use, even if it had prevented the loss of only a single property. “If that alert prevented the loss of one home, if it helped keep people safe, I think it was worth it,” he said. He acknowledged emergency alerts should be used “judiciously”, but maintained the wildfire warning met that threshold. “I think it was entirely appropriate to issue them following the requests of the fire and rescue services to do so,” he said.

‘No current plans’ for water surge pricing

Pennycook was also pressed by GB News presenter Ellie Costello over reports that water companies could be allowed to increase bills during periods of drought, so-called “surge pricing”, and whether ministers would intervene to block the proposals.

“There’s no current plans on the part of the Government for surge pricing in respect of water bills,” he said.

He acknowledged growing concern among customers over rising bills, alongside record levels of serious pollution incidents and leaks. “Customers, I’m sure yourselves, including me, have seen their bills go up and up and up over recent years,” he said. He said the Government was “on the side of customers” and would not allow them to be treated as “a blank cheque”, pointing to the Prime Minister’s argument that essential services, including water, required greater public control. “We’ve got to do what we can within the context of exploring that greater public control to ensure bills are kept at fair levels,” he said.

‘The culmination of a two-year sustained effort’

The interview also turned to the Government’s plans to make it easier to build homes around transport stations, with Pennycook describing the proposals as the outcome of a consultation published in December and now finalised.

“This is the culmination of a two-year sustained effort to revamp our planning system to ensure it’s delivering housing needs in full and unleashing economic growth,” he said.

Under the changes, suitable development proposals on land around train and tram stations will receive a default “yes” in principle under the new National Planning Policy Framework. “We want the weight of national policy to sit behind that,” Pennycook said, arguing such locations were among the most sustainable for new housing.

He stressed this would not amount to automatic planning permission or remove local democratic oversight. “It doesn’t mean these are automatic permissions. It doesn’t mean that local democratic oversight is removed. People still have a say,” he said, adding the changes were intended to provide greater clarity on what type of development is appropriate where.