HC Deb 23 January 1984 vol 52 cc395-6W
Mr. John Wheeler

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each fire brigade in England and Wales (a) the numbers of fire service officers, and civilian supporting personnel, respectively, (b) the costs for each brigade showing Home Office contribution and that borne by rates, (c) the number of retained firemen for each brigade, and (d) the annual average inclusive cost for a full-time fire officer.

Mr. Mellor

The number of firemen, including retained firemen, in each brigade in England and Wales is published annually in the reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services. The latest available figures will be found at appendix 5 of the 1982 report (Cmnd. 8964).

The figures below show the number of civilians employed, and the total expenditure, on the fire service by each fire authority in 1982–83. The information has been taken from returns made by each local authority to the Department of the Environment. Expenditure is met from rate support grant and rate income, but information on the apportionment between the two and the average cost for a full-time fire officer is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Fire Brigade Civilians (at 31 March 1983) Total expenditure (1982–83) £
1. Avon 124 9,932,975
2. Bedfordshire 38 4,818,002
3. Berkshire 72 6,895,143
4. Buckinghamshire 40.5 4,831,305
5. Cambridgeshire 47 5,423,248
6. Cheshire 108.5 10,454,105

Fire Brigade Civilians (at 31 March 1983) Total expenditure (1982–83) £
7. Cleveland 129 9,149,606
8. Clwyd 43.5 3,803,288
9. Cornwall 52 4,277,703
10. Cumbria 56 5,141,644
11. Derbyshire 81 8,563,285
12. Devon 84 9,578,121
13. Dorset 41.5 5,358,215
14. Durham 81 6,893,558
15. Dyfed 33 3,856,771
16. Essex 154 14,286,938
17. Glamorgan (Mid) 64 6,013,725
18. Glamorgan (South) 37 4,573,457
19. Glamorgan (West) 54 4,449,339
20. Gloucestershire 41 4,169,089
21. Gwent 41 5,515,554
22. Gwynedd 17 2,568,663
23. Hampshire 108 13,778,148
24. Hereford and Worcester 55 6,149,050
25. Hertfordshire 59.5 8,336,047
26. Humberside 81 12,123,597
27. Kent 178 15,004,794
28. Lancashire 145 15,032,093
29. Leicestershire 60 6,842,705
30. Lincolnshire 34 4,687,411
31. London (Greater) 844 113,138,084
32. Manchester (Greater) 313 32,728,109
33. Merseyside 232.5 22,319,100
34. Norfolk 66.5 6,329,887
35. Northamptonshire 29 4,058,666
36. Northumberland 36 3.954,010
37. Nottinghamshire 79 9,864,089
38. Oxfordshire 40 4,702,549
39. Powys 13 1,357,901
40. Salop 26 3,896,553
41. Scilly, Isles of — 31,917
42. Somerset 43 3,988,238
43. Staffordshire 113 8,386,426
44. Suffolk 68 5,496,896
45. Surrey 92 11,828,158
46. Sussex (East) 71.5 7,873,297
47. Sussex (West) 69 6,936,773
48. Tyne and Wear 176 15,375,640
49. Warwickshire 52 5,330,012
50. West Midlands 218 28,752,694
51. Wight, Isle of 7 1,468,247
52. Wiltshire 40 4,446,491
53. Yorkshire (North) 66 7,242,077
54. Yorkshire (South) 142 15,697,420
55. Yorkshire (West) 243 25,758,167
Total 4,918 573,468,980

Mr. Wheeler

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often fire appliances in the London fire brigade area attended "serious" fires in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr. Mellor

Information on fires attended in the London Fire Brigade area is published in tables 57–59 of "Fire Statistics, United Kingdom, 1982" a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Various indicators of the seriousness of these fires are collected; if required, further information could be provided according to the spread beyond the item first ignited, the method of extinction and the number and type of casualties.