§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which fire authorities are involved in local strategic partnerships in their area; and what their role is in regard to such local strategic partnerships. [42923]
§ Dr. WhiteheadFire authorities have a valuable role to play as members of local strategic partnerships. As with other public sector organisations fire authorities' participation in LSPs allow the development of an integrated approach to local service delivery in consultation with the local community. We do not have specific information as to the number of fire authorities on LSPs. It is for each LSP to consider its membership in view of local circumstances and priorities.
1091W
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many rescues from(a) road traffic accidents, (b) underground, (c) collapsed structures and (d) floods were undertaken by the fire service in the last year for which records are available; and what the cost of each of these operations was. [42927]
§ Dr. WhiteheadThe information is not held centrally. However, information is available on the number of incidents where persons were extricated from vehicles. For last year this was 9,638. Other rescues involved the release of 8,531 individuals.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many unfilled posts there are within the fire service, broken down into(a) civilian and (b) fire fighting positions. [42930]
§ Dr. WhiteheadBased on annual returns submitted to HM Fire Service Inspectorate, the figures for the establishment and strength of the fire service in England and Wales, as at 31 March 2001, were as follows:
Establishment Actual strength Whole-time firefighters 33,640 133,376 Retained firefighters 14,940 212,028 Control room staff 1,454 11,474 Non-uniformed staff 6,413 16,074 1 In full time equivalents. 2 In twenty-four hour units of cover.