The appointment places Baroness Blake in a ministerial role covering a number of areas of direct relevance to the fire safety sector, including fire policy and operations, building safety and regulation, the Building Safety Regulator, remediation and the Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Her responsibilities also include resilience, recovery and emergencies, alongside the Grenfell community, Tower and Memorial.

Baroness Blake has served as a Life Peer in the House of Lords since 2021. Before entering the House of Lords, she was leader of Leeds City Council between 2015 and 2021.

She joined the opposition front bench in May 2021 as Shadow Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government and an Opposition Whip. She subsequently held shadow spokesperson roles covering business, energy, international trade and net zero.

In July 2024, Baroness Blake was appointed Baroness-in-Waiting (Government Whip) in the House of Lords. She was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at MHCLG on 22 July 2026.

Fire and resilience responsibilities

The appointment comes at a significant time for the UK's fire and rescue sector, with services responding to a particularly challenging period of wildfire activity.

According to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), fire and rescue services in England and Wales responded to 1,132 wildfires between 1 January and 16 August 2026, already surpassing the 1,017 wildfires recorded throughout the whole of 2025.

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