§ Mr. Terry Fieldsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the authorised establishment of the Merseyside fire brigade; how many vacancies currently exist; what is its anticipated establishment on disbandment of the Merseyside county council; what is its current level of financing; what is the projected level of financing after disbandment of the Merseyside metropolitan council; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe latest information available to us is that the notified uniformed establishment (including control room staff) of the Merseyside Metropolitan County fire brigade was 1,651 at 1 January 1985, and there were 89 vacancies at the end of 1985. The establishment on 1 April will be that to be determined under the Fire and Civil Defence Authorities (Establishment, Support Services and Management Schemes) Regulations 1985. The metropolitan council has no agreed current budget for any of its services. It is estimated that the maximum precept level prescribed for 1986–87 for the new Merseyside Fire
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Extract from Supply Estimates 1985–86 1983–84 Outturn 1984–85 Total Provision Section K: GRANTS IN AID 1985–86 provision £'000 £'000 £'000 391 595 K1 Welfare grants in aids 621 207 (1) Grant to the Royal British Legion for the relief of distressed Polish ex-servicemen 216 388 (2) Grant to the Council of Voluntary Welfare Work towards the cost of providing welfare services for service personnel in Germany 405 1,118 3,812 K2 Grants in aid to museums [...] 4,172 —(1) Portsmouth Royal Naval Museum and Royal Navy Submarine Museum: towards the cost of purchase of exhibits (£13,000 each): and general expenses including pay, superannuation, fuel, furniture, utilities, works services etc. (£32,000 and £133,000 respectively) Fleet Air Arm Museum and Royal Marines Museum: towards the cost of the purchase of exhibits (£13,000 each). 517 For both museums, expenditure on staff is provided for under subheads A1, A2 and D2 of this vote, and, plus other expenditure elsewhere in the vote, amounts to £157,000. Expenditure on maintenance of buildings is provided for under class I, vote 4 and amounts to £10,000. 1,342 (2) National Army Museum: towards the cost of the purchase of exhibits (£100,00): and general expenses including pay, superannuation, fuel, furniture, utilities, works services etc. (£1,333,000). 1,433 2,470 (3) Royal Air Force Museum: towards the cost of the purchase of exhibits (£100, 000): and general expenses including pay, superannuation, fuel, fumiture, utilities, works services etc. (£2,122,000). 2,222 The approximate value of indemnities given to owners in respect of objects borrowed for exhibition purposes in the service museums at 1 January 1985 was £1,600,000. 135 151 K3 Grants in aid to services sports control boards towards the cost of staff and administrative expensesob/> 146 21 (1) Royal Navy and Royal Marines Sports Control Board 27 101 (2) Army Sports Control Board 90 29 (3) Royal Air Force Sports control Board 29 The services sports control boards also receive certain free services, the costs of which, estimated in table 5 for 1985–86, are provided for elsewhere in votes of this class. 5,112 5,635 K4 Grant in aid to Royal Hospital Chelsea: towards the cost of pay, superannuation, drugs and medical stores, fuel, food, furniture, utilities etc. 5,817 and Civil Defence Authority under the draft Local Government Act 1985 (Police and Fire and Civil Defence Authorities) Precepts Limitation Order 1986 laid on 30 January will yield £28.2 million, and we are satisfied that that sum is sufficient broadly to maintain the existing level of fire protection.