§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of(a) full-time firemen and (b) part-time firemen employed in the United Kingdom for each year since 1981.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information for England and Wales is given in the table. Questions relating to the fire service in other parts of the United Kingdom are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Year Number of full-time firefighters Number of part-time (retained) firefighters1 1981 34,223 15,745 1982 34,117 15,535 1983 34,206 15,887 1984 34,536 16,129 1985 34,575 16,144 1986 34,783 16,138 1987 34,515 15,984 1988 35,011 16,126 1989 34,784 15,861 1990 35,002 15,959 1991 35,162 16,025 1 These figures include wholetime firefighters with retained obligations