§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will give details of any emergency duty system for firefighters that he has considered for use in the event of hostilities or a war emergency;
(2) what advice he has issued to chief fire officers concerning wartime or emergency duty systems for firefighters; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenGuidance on wartime duty systems is contained in fire service circular 6/1984, paragraph 17. Detailed arrangements would be for the individual fire authorities to decide in the light of circumstances at the time. No such guidance has been given in relation to peacetime emergencies.
§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria for determining the eligibility for civil defence grant aid of local authority emergency centre proposals.
§ Mr. John PattenRelevant statutory provisions are contained in the Civil Defence (General Local Authority
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District/Borough Authorities in England and Wales which had received message switch equipment by 31 December 1988 County District/Borough Bedfordshire Luton, Mid Bedfordshire, North Bedfordshire, South Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdon, South Cambridgeshire Cheshire Vale Royal Cleveland Middlesborough, Stockton on Tees Cornwall Caradon, North Cornwall, Penwith Cumbria Allerdale, Barrow in Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden Derbyshire Chesterfield, High Peak, West Derbyshire Devon East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, Plymouth, Teignbridge, Torbay Dorset Bournemouth, Christchurch, East Dorset, Poole, Purbeck, West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Durham Chester le Street, Derwentside, Durham, Easington, Teesdale Essex Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, Tendring, Thurrock, Uttlesford Gloucestershire Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Tewkesbury Hampshire New Forest, Winchester Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire, St. Albans Humberside Beverley, Cleethorpes, East Yorkshire, Glanford, Great Grimsby Functions) Regulations 1983 (SI 1983/1634) and the Civil Defence (Grant) Regulations 1953 (SI 1953/1777) as amended. Proposals for such emergency centres should be in accordance with the guidance contained in the "Emergency Planning Guidance to Local Authorities", a copy of which is in the Library. In particular, information on the minimum standards for emergency centres is set out in annex D of section 4 of the EPGLA and on eligibility for grant aid in section 19.
§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those county and fire and civil defence authorities that had had message switch equipment installed in their emergency centres by 31 December 1988; and if he will list those county and fire and civil defence authorities that were expected to receive such equipment during the current year.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information requested is as follows:
County and Fire and Civil Defence Authorities (FCDAs) in England and Wales which had received message switch equipment by 31 December 1988:
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, Essex, Gloucestershire, Gwent, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, West Yorkshire FCDA, Wiltshire.County and Fire and Civil Defence Authorities (FCDAs) in England and Wales which have received or are expected to receive the equipment during the year to 31 December 1989:
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Clwyd, Dyfed, East Sussex, Greater Manchester FCDA, Gwynedd, Hampshire (to complete), Hereford and Worcester, Isle of Wight, Kent, London FCDA, Oxfordshire, Powys, Shropshire, South Glamorgan, Staffordshire (to complete), Surrey, Tyne and Wear FCDA, Warwickshire, West Glamorgan, West Midlands FCDA, West Sussex.Some revisions and additions to the above list can be expected in the light of site availability, following discussion with the authorities concerned.
§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those district authorities that had had message switch equipment installed in their emergency centres by 31 December 1988: and if he will list those district authorities that were expected to receive such equipment during the current year.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information requested is as follows:
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Country District/Borough Lancashire Blackburn, Blackpool, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre Leicestershire Blaby, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Leicester, Melton, Rutland Lincolnshire Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Kesteven Norfolk Breckland, Great Yarmouth Northamptonshire Daventry, Northampton, Wellingborough North Yorkshire Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Scarborough, Selby Northumberland Alnwick, Tynedale Nottinghamshire Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark, Nottingham Somerset Mendip, Sedgemoor, South Somerset, Taunton Deane Staffordshire East Staffordshire, South Staffordshire Suffolk Babergh, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, St Edmundsbury West Yorkshire Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees Wiltshire Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, West Wiltshire
District/Borough Authorities in England and Wales which have received or are expected to receive the equipment during the year to 31 December 1989 County District/Borough Berkshire Bracknell, Newbury, Reading, Windsor and Maidenhead Buckinghamshire Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, Milton Keynes, South Buckinghamshire, Wycombe Clwyd Colwyn Dyfed Carmarthen, Llanelli East Sussex Brighton, Hove, Lewes, Rother, Wealden Greater Manchester Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Salford, Stockport, Trafford Gwynedd Aberconwy, Ynys Mon Hampshire Basingstoke and Dene, Eastleigh, Fareham, Hart, Havant, Portsmouth, Rushmoor, Southampton, Test Valley Hereford and Worcester Leominster, Redditch, Worcester, Wyre Forest Kent Dover, Gillingham, Sevenoaks, Shepway, Swale, Thanet, Tonbridge and Mailing, Tunbridge Wells London Barnet, Brent, Camden, City of London, Ealing, Enfield, Harringey, Harrow, Havering, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames Oxfordshire Cherwell, Oxford, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire Powys Brecknock, Radnor Shropshire Shrewsbury and Atcham, South Shropshire South Glamorgan Cardiff Staffordshire Lichfield, Staffordshire Moorlands Surrey Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley, Woking Tyne and Wear North Tyneside, Sunderland Warwickshire Rugby, Stratford on Avon West Midlands Birmingham. Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Wolverhampton West Sussex Adur, Arun, Chichester, Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex In a few cases, equipment for the above districts has been accommodated elsewhere pending completion of site preparations. Also, some revisions and additions to the list can be expected in the light of site availability following discussions with the authorities concerned.
§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the emergency planning communications handbook will be published; when the proposed circular on wartime communications will be published; when the guide to message writing being drafted by the ad hoc working party on emergency communications will be published; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenThe emergency planning guidance handbook on communications and the guide to message writing are due to be published later this year.
Consideration is being given to the need for a circular to update existing references to emergency communications provision and associated arrangements for grant aid. Any such circular is unlikely to be issued before next year.
§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the written reply to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) of 7 December 1988,Official Report, columns 204–5, (1) how many of the 35 emergency planning officers and 10 520W administrative and support staff employed by district authorities are wholly funded by his Department's civil defence grant;
(2) if he will list those district authorities which employ the 35 emergency planning officers and 10 administrative and support staff which are wholly or partly funded by Home Office civil defence grant.
§ Mr. John PattenThe aggregate figures quoted in the earlier reply derive from the employment of 22 full-time emergency planning officers, four full-time administrative and support staff and a number of part time staff in each category. The full-time posts are wholly funded by civil defence grant.
The districts which employ these staff are as follows:
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Avon Wansdyke Buckinghamshire Aylesbury Vale Milton Keynes South Buckinghamshire Wycombe Chiltern Cambridgeshire East Cambridgeshire Cheshire Congleton Essex Braintree Southend
Brentwood Tendring Chelmsford Uttlesford Epping Forest Isle of Wight Medina South Wight Kent Canterbury Gravesham Dartford Sevenoaks Dover Norfolk Broadland South Norfolk Breckland West Norfolk North Norfolk Oxfordshire Cherwell West Oxford South Oxford Vale of White Horse Suffolk Babergh Suffolk Coastal St. Edmundsbury East Sussex Eastbourne Rother Hove Wealden Lewes West Sussex Adur Horsham Arun Mid Sussex Chichester Worthing