§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many coloured people are employed at present in the National Fire Service; how many coloured people applied to join in the last five years and how many were accepted; how many men the service is below strength; and what proportion of all applicants is accepted.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsAs I said in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Marquand) on 26th January, I am asking fire authorities, who are responsible for recruitment, to supply information on which a central record can be kept of the number of coloured firemen employed. The number is, I believe, at present very small. There is no available information about the number of coloured people who applied to join fire brigades over the last five years, since they have not been distinguished from other applicants. Some brigades are fully recruited, and in others the extent of under-manning varies; at 31st December, 1966 the number of whole-time firemen in England and Wales was 3,369 below establishment. Many applicants are rejected because they do not satisfy the required physical or educational standards; such information as I have suggests that about one in four firm applications is accepted.—[Vol. 739, c.322–3.]