§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the changing pattern or special service calls on the fire service over the last 10 years; how such calls are financed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe number of special service incidents attended by the fire service in England and Wales for each year from 1983 to 1992 is shown in the table. Fire authorities have been able to provide these services from within their existing resources.
Total number of special service calls for 1983 to 1992 Year Number of special service calls 1983 88,880 1984 97,199 1985 121,953 1986 118,193 1987 175,846 1988 139,768 1989 160,090 1990 190,787 1991 168,970 1992 151,180
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which organisation he has discussed the future of the fire service over the last 18 months; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe former Home Secretary, my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, addressed the annual general meeting of the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' AssociationCACFOA—on 1 May 1993. I addressed the Fire '93 conference in September. I have also received delegations from West Glamorgan, Dyfed and Powys county councils to discuss the future of the fire service in Wales. In addition, I chair the central Fire Brigades Advisory Council for England and Wales, which meets twice a year, and which offers advice on any matter pertaining to the fire service. I continue to receive advice from a sub-committee of the council on the fire service implications of the recommendations of the Local Government Commission.
I also met representatives of the Fire Brigades Union in October 1993 and a range of issues relating to the future of the fire service were discussed.
§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the implications for the fire service of(a) privatisation of the coal mining industry and (b) deregulation legislation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe Home Office is discussing with the Health and Safety Executive the possible need to issue guidance to chief fire officers on the implications for the fire service of developments in the coal industry. We have recently completed a review of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and are considering its findings and possible implications for business and the fire service.
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§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the number of(a) fire stations, (b) fire service personnel and (c) pumps and other fire appliances in each fire brigade at the latest date for which figures are available; what the position was on the same basis 10 years ago; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe latest date for which information is available is 1 January 1993. Figures comparing the position on that date with that on 1 January 1984 are given in the following tables.
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Number of Fire Stations Brigades 1984 1993 Clwyd 19 18 Dyfed 26 27 Mid Glamorgan 24 22 South Glamorgan 8 8 West Glamorgan 12 12 Gwent 20 20 Gwynedd 26 26 Powys 18 18 Avon 23 23 Bedfordshire 13 14 Berkshire 19 20 Buckinghamshire 24 24 Cambridgeshire 28 28 Cheshire 24 24 Cleveland 14 15 Cornwall 32 32 Cumbria 38 38 Derbyshire 31 31 Devon 58 58 Dorset 26 27 Durham 18 17 Essex 51 51 Gloucestershire 20 20 Hampshire 58 55 Hereford and Worcestershire 26 26 Hertfordshire 32 32 Humberside 31 31 Kent 65 65 Lancashire 40 40 Leicestershire 19 19 Lincolnshire 37 37 Norfolk 40 40 Northamptonshire 21 22 Northumberland 18 18 Nottinghamshire 27 26 Oxfordshire 24 24 Shropshire 23 23 Isles of Scilly 5 5 Somerset 24 24 Staffordshire 30 30 Suffolk 35 35 Surrey 24 24 East Sussex 24 24 West Sussex 28 28 Warwickshire 20 20 Isle of Wight 10 10 Wiltshire 23 24 North Yorkshire 35 36 Greater Manchester 41 41 Merseyside 28 28 Tyne and Wear 19 18 West Midlands 41 40 South Yorkshire 27 25 West Yorkshire 53 51 London 115 113 Total 1,615 1,607
Whole-time staff Brigades 1984 1993 Clwyd 200 182 Dyfed 191 223 Mid Glamorgan 321 341 South Glamorgan 309 334 West Glamorgan 265 235 Gwent 293 292 Gwynedd 93 106 Powys 27 31 Avon 633 640 Bedfordshire 288 309 Berkshire 404 434 Buckinghamshire 263 316 Cambridgeshire 264 267 Cheshire 610 638 Cleveland 625 641 Cornwall 181 183 Cumbria 282 287 Derbyshire 512 492 Devon 522 535 Dorset 297 307 Durham 442 429 Essex 861 922 Gloucestershire 219 232 Hampshire 738 778 Hereford and Worcestershire 329 342 Hertfordshire 531 573 Humberside 731 724 Kent 784 908 Lancashire 904 974 Leicestershire 440 452 Lincolnshire 180 190 Norfolk 304 288 Northamptonshire 225 292 Northumberland 253 238 Nottinghamshire 609 613 Oxfordshire 219 229 Shropshire 200 203 Isles of Scilly 0 0 Somerset 153 172 Staffordshire 455 492 Suffolk 243 262 Surrey 676 691 East Sussex 436 436 West Sussex 375 395 Warwickshire 298 321 Isle of Wight 46 48 Wiltshire 194 206 North Yorkshire 401 405 Greater Manchester 2,167 2,188 Merseyside 1,548 1,561 Tyne and Wear 1,065 1,077 West Midlands 2,012 2,095 South Yorkshire 1,096 1,030 West Yorkshire 1,805 1,830 London 6,954 6,563 Total 34,473 34,952 338W
Retained Staff1 Brigades 1984 1993 Clwyd 194 185 Dyfed 291 295 Mid Glamorgan 206 201 South Glamorgan 11 17 West Glamorgan 68 80 Gwent 204 127 Gwynedd 304 328 Powys 204 199 Avon 187 182 Bedfordshire 125 124 Berkshire 157 136 Buckinghamshire 231 172 Cambridgeshire 293 288 Cheshire 204 133
Brigades 1984 1993 Cleveland 59 59 Cornwall 397 379 Cumbria 365 382 Derbyshire 321 346 Devon 614 659 Dorset 280 313 Durham 201 143 Essex 390 403 Gloucestershire 240 253 Hampshire 523 567 Hereford and Worcestershire 295 313 Hertfordshire 209 218 Humberside 241 257 Kent 647 682 Lancashire 368 374 Leicestershire 206 196 Lincolnshire 410 441 Norfolk 440 448 Northamptonshire 204 215 Northumberland 146 149 Nottinghamshire 266 266 Oxfordshire 267 229 Shropshire 227 239 Isles of Scilly 29 29 Somerset 367 369 Staffordshire 303 296 Suffolk 378 391 Surrey 107 114 East Sussex 227 245 West Sussex 289 302 Warwickshire 222 168 Isle of Wight 150 151 Wiltshire 270 290 North Yorkshire 440 414 Greater Manchester 62 63 Merseyside 10 6 Tyne and Wear 24 18 West Midlands 22 10 South Yorkshire 116 70 West Yorkshire 316 98 London 0 0 Total 13,327 13,132 1 Expressed in units of 24 hour cover. 339W
Control Room Staff Brigades 1984 1993 Clwyd 23 24 Dyfed 14 18 Mid Glamorgan 21 22 South Glamorgan 17 18 West Glamorgan 17 17 Gwent 20 20 Gwynedd 12 15 Powys 9 9 Avon 25 29 Bedfordshire 19 19 Berkshire 21 21 Buckinghamshire 15 18 Cambridgeshire 25 22 Cheshire 35 29 Cleveland 25 27 Cornwall 13 14 Cumbria 16 17 Derbyshire 24 26 Devon 24 25 Dorset 17 20 Durham 24 28 Essex 39 39 Gloucestershire 18 21 Hampshire 29 31 Hereford and Worcestershire 18 20 Hertfordshire 21 21 Humberside 29 30 Kent 33 38
Brigades 1984 1993 Lancashire 40 41 Leicestershire 20 24 Lincolnshire 20 21 Norfolk 23 22 Northamptonshire 17 17 Northumberland 14 15 Nottinghamshire 25 27 Oxfordshire 17 21 Shropshire 17 17 Isles of Scilly 0 0 Somerset 16 19 Staffordshire 24 21 Suffolk 17 21 Surrey 25 26 East Sussex 23 24 West Sussex 26 29 Warwickshire 18 19 Isle of Wight 11 12 Wiltshire 18 18 North Yorkshire 18 21 Greater Manchester 74 74 Merseyside 70 73 Tyne and Wear 34 38 West Midlands 66 68 South Yorkshire 37 36 West Yorkshire 49 58 London 177 143 Total 1,499 1,543 340W
Pumping Appliances Brigades 1984 1993 Clwyd 31 28 Dyfed 35 35 Mid Glamorgan 32 30 South Glamorgan 14 10 West Glamorgan 15 14 Gwent 49 36 Gwynedd 43 46 Powys 29 28 Avon 37 37 Bedfordshire 23 22 Berkshire 26 24 Buckinghamshire 39 33 Cambridgeshire 41 39 Cheshire 58 39 Cleveland 24 23 Cornwall 76 74 Cumbria 52 50 Derbyshire 48 46 Devon 84 83 Dorset 44 45 Durham 36 33 Essex 74 75 Gloucestershire 33 34 Hampshire 103 80 Hereford and Worcestershire 50 43 Hertfordshire 55 43 Humberside 54 53 Kent 86 86 Lancashire 67 66 Leicestershire 29 32 Lincolnshire 48 48 Norfolk 52 52 Northamptonshire 27 28 Northumberland 23 24 Nottinghamshire 38 37 Oxfordshire 36 36 Shropshire 33 33 Isles of Scilly 6 13 Somerset 39 42 Staffordshire 48 48 Suffolk 49 46 Surrey 36 36 East Sussex 38 38
Brigades 1984 1993 West Sussex 43 45 Warwickshire 26 27 Isle of Wight 16 16 Wiltshire 35 35 North Yorkshire 45 55 Greater Manchester 67 68 Merseyside 42 44 Tyne and Wear 35 34 West Midlands 66 62 South Yorkshire 43 36 West Yorkshire 79 77 London 188 189 Total 2,545 2,456 341W
Other Appliances Brigades 1984 1993 Clwyd 14 11 Dyfed 8 24 Mid Glamorgan 11 19 South Glamorgan 11 21 West Glamorgan 9 10 Gwent 8 11 Gwynedd 6 5 Powys 10 17 Avon 17 54 Bedfordshire 20 22 Berkshire 9 16 Buckinghamshire 7 11 Cambridgeshire 9 13 Cheshire 18 21 Cleveland 9 11 Cornwall 9 13 Cumbria 16 13 Derbyshire 16 17 Devon 12 13 Dorset 30 9 Durham 16 6 Essex 12 18 Gloucestershire 11 16 Hampshire 38 40 Hereford and Worcestershire 11 4 Hertfordshire 8 8 Humberside 24 16 Kent 19 21 Lancashire 14 25 Leicestershire 7 14 Lincolnshire 14 34 Norfolk 9 12 Northamptonshire 8 5 Northumberland 0 4 Nottinghamshire 10 16 Oxfordshire 11 11 Shropshire 3 15 Isles of Scilly 0 4 Somerset 6 35 Staffordshire 16 21 Suffolk 8 20 Surrey 13 19 East Sussex 16 23 West Sussex 25 25 Warwickshire 11 6 Isle of Wight 8 8 Wiltshire 9 18 North Yorkshire 10 15 Greater Manchester 28 29 Merseyside 16 22 Tyne and Wear 13 16 West Midlands 22 34 South Yorkshire 19 24 West Yorkshire 36 28 London 37 72 Total 757 1,015