§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of(a) the level of cover provided by the fire service in Worcestershire and (b) the central Government funding available for this service; and if he will make a statement. [144512]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe provision of fire cover is a matter for the local fire authority, in this case Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority, which was established on 1 April 1998 to cover the areas of Herefordshire district council and Worcestershire county council. Fire brigades are inspected periodically by Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate. The most recent inspection of Hereford and Worcester was made in June 1999. A copy of the inspection report is held in the Library.
The Government have responded to fire service concerns about future funding pressures by increasing the fire service element of standard spending assessments (SSAs) in England by £189.2 million over the next three years, including more than £69 million for 2001–02. Planned credit approvals for the fire service in England and Wales have been substantially increased from their present level of £35.7 million to £59.7 million in 2001–02.
Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority received a 3.5 per cent. increase in its fire SSA for the current financial year. Its provisional fire SSA for 2001–02 is £15.266 million, an increase of 2.4 per cent. I understand that the authority has made representations to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions about the level of its provisional SSA figure.