§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many operational(a) men and (b) women firefighters are employed in each fire authority/FCDA in England.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information requested is given in the table.
211W
Wholetime Retained Authority Men Women Total Men Women Total Cornwall 154 — 154 410 — 410 Cumbria 296 — 296 403 1 404 Derbyshire 513 2 515 376 2 378 Devon 480 — 480 695 2 697 Dorset1 — — 282 — — 331 Durham 418 — 418 177 — 177 Essex1 — — 858 — — 452 Gloucestershire 211 — 211 271 2 273 Hampshire 689 — 689 686 2 688 Hereford and Worcestershire 344 2 346 308 2 310 Hertfordshire1 — — 497 — — 242 Humberside 734 — 734 313 3 316 Kent 812 — 812 786 3 789 Lancashire 963 — 963 418 2 420 Leicestershire1 — — 434 — — 226 Lincolnshire1 — — 186 — — 445 Norfolk 246 1 247 441 1 442 Northamptonshire 298 1 299 245 1 246 Northumberland 256 — 256 159 1 160 Nottinghamshire 574 — 574 329 2 331 Oxfordshire1 — — 199 — — 271 Shropshire 205 — 205 262 3 265 Isle of Scilly — — — 34 — 34 Somerset 145 — 145 382 — 382 Staffordshire 465 — 465 386 — 386 Suffolk 221 — 221 399 2 401 Surrey 697 — 697 — — 120 East Sussex1 — — 395 — — 239 West Sussex 332 — 332 314 2 316 Warwickshire 324 1 325 218 — 218 Isle of Wight 49 — 49 161 2 164 Wiltshire 183 1 184 297 1 298 North Yorkshire 403 — 403 409 2 411 Total 11,860 10 16,009 9,958 48 12,597 Fire and Civil Defence Authority Greater Manchester 2,201 2 2,203 40 — 40 Merseyside 1,400 1 1,401 9 1 10 Tyne and Wear 1,085 — 1,085 32 — 32 West Midlands 2,095 1 2,096 13 — 13 South Yorkshire 1,012 — 1,012 129 — 129 West Yorkshire 1,967 2 1,969 241 1 242 London 6,329 47 6,376 — — — Total 16,089 53 16,142 464 2 466 Total 27,949 63 32,151 10,422 50 13,063 1 Totals only are shown for these authorities as they do not record the gender of their employees.
§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which fire brigades have yet to provide full A26 specification firefighting uniforms to all(a) whole-time and (b) retained firefighters; and if he will give the timescale for issue to (a) and (b) and the estimated cost for each fire authority.
§ Mr. John PattenThe purchase of firefighters' uniforms is a matter entirely for fire authorities. A recent survey indicated that 33 fire brigades in England and Wales issue firefighting tunics providing protection to specification A26.