§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fire officers are employed full and part time in the Home Office; who pays for them; what is the cost to public funds; what has been the cost to public funds, with particular reference to the palace and its estate, of the work of these fire officers in the Palace of Westminster; and how many officers are deputed to oversee the Palace of Westminster. [18087]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerTwenty-six staff, all of them former or serving members of the United Kingdom fire service, are currently employed in the Crown premises inspection group of Her Majesty's fire service inspectorate. They are all employed full time. Their duties are to inspect all Crown-owned or Crown-occupied premises in England and Wales which may need to be certified under the requirements of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and to issue fire certificates where appropriate. They are paid by the Home Office. Their total salary cost is £693,000 at 1994–95 prices. The fire service inspector who is head of the group is responsible for the necessary certification of the Palace of Westminster, but he has been assisted with this work by other members of the group.
Certification however deals only with those specific fire safety matters which are within the scope of the Fire Precaution Act 1971. Other fire safety matters generally are overseen by the fire safety manager appointed by the palace.
The Crown premises inspection group has been involved with work connected to the certification of the Palace of Westminster over a number of years and I regret that it is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of the total cost of the work.