§ Earl Attleeasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will list the numbers and pumping capacity of all portable, transportable or towable pumps held in the inventory of the Royal Engineers; and [HL92]
Whether they will list the numbers and pumping capacity of all portable, transportable or towable pumps held in depot for land use by the Defence Logistic Organisation. [HL93]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)It is assumed that the Questions relate to water pumps. The Defence Logistic Organisation manages this equipment on behalf of all land units, including the Royal Engineers (RE). The information is set out in the table below.
21WA
Type of pump Qty held in depot Qty held by Royal Engineer units Pumping capacity NBC water purification units (source) 33 40 11,100 L/hr (2,442 gal/hr) NBC water purification units (distribution) 33 40 11,100 L/hr (2,442 gal/hr) NBC decontamination system 8 0 4,200 L/hr (924 gal/hr) Various pumpsets 79 224 6,800–216,026 L/min (1,500–47,520 gal/min) Towed bowser 32 0 315 L/min (70 gal/min) Cutting tool water supply 0 3 N/A Hydraulic pumpset 18 42 950 L/min (210 gal/min) Various fire pumps 4 0 1,000–1,600 L/min Various water hand pumps 117 0 863–6,819 L/hr (190–1,500 gal/hr)
§ Earl Attleeasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will list the numbers and pumping capacity of all portable, transportable or towable pumps held in depot for the use of the Royal Navy by the Defence Logistic Organisation. [HL94]
§ Lord BachDetails of portable, transportable and towable pumps currently held in store for use by the Royal Navy are shown in the table below.
Type of Pump Pumping Capacity Number held Godiva GN1700 diesel fire pump 100,000 litres/hr (21,978 gallons/hr) 4 Godiva GN 500 diesel fire pump 33,000 litre/hr (7,253 gallons/hr) 1 Desmi/Lombardini diesel fire pump 100,000 litres/hr (21,978 gallons/hr) 1
§ Earl Attleeasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there is anything preventing the Royal Engineers from hiring portable pumps from normal civilian plant hire companies in order to deal with flooding incidents normally dealt with by local fire brigades. [HL95]
§ Lord BachThere is nothing to prevent the hire of pumping equipment should the Armed Forces have a requirement for it. It is, however, the responsibility of local authorities to take action in response to flooding. They can call on the emergency services, and in some cases the Armed Forces, for assistance where appropriate.
During the period of the recent 48-hour national firemen's strike, Green Goddess fire engines manned by the Armed Forces could have replicated assistance normally provided by fire brigades to the local authorities had it been required to save life. There was no requirement for the Armed Forces to hire pumping equipment because the Green Goddesses are equipped with capable pumps.
§ Earl Attleeasked Her Majesty's Government:
How the complexity of an Army 6 x 6 heavy recovery vehicle compares with a modern fire appliance; and what is the duration of a Territorial Army class three recovery mechanic course at the Army's School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. [HL96]
§ Lord BachAs these are two very different vehicles, designed to do very different tasks, it is not possible to compare them like for like with regard to the complexity. An Army recovery vehicle is designed to recover broken-down vehicles (ranging from a Land-Rover to a tank transporter) in a variety of off and on road situations. Fire appliances are designed for a number of situations, including for example rapid intervention vehicles for airfield work.
A REME Territorial Army recovery mechanic receives two weeks' initial training to qualify as a class 3 tradesman. All class 3 personnel are subject to close supervision, however, until they have attended a class 22WA 2 course (also two weeks). A year must pass between the two courses, this time being spent doing on the job training.