§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's proposals for fire prevention campaign activity nationally for the next two years.
§ Mr. John PattenWe propose to build on the success of our smoke alarm television campaign with particular emphasis on increasing ownership amongst the elderly and lower socio-economic groups. The campaign will also seek to emphasise the need for maintenance of smoke alarms.
We intended to produce an educational and publicity package for five to eight-year-olds. We also hope to produce an integrated educational package to cover the range of school age groups.
We shall be promoting national fire safety week in October in conjunction with the insurance industry and the fire liaison panel network. We shall be continuing to work closely with fire brigades and we propose to hold a series of national and regional conferences for senior fire prevention officers in order to encourage and foster greater awareness on publicity and education and to establish a co-ordinated approach to local and national publicity.
It is our aim to help minimise the risk from fire breaking out and thereby reduce casualties and deaths. In addition to the above, there are a number of continuing educational and publicity initiatives concentrating on the main risk areas activated throughout the year with the valued assistance of local fire brigades.