Fire Safety (Wheelchairs) (Hansard, 4 March 1996)

§ Ms Lynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the relative risk to(a) employees confirmed to wheelchairs and (b) other employees in the event of a fire within a Ministry of Defence building following implementation of his Department's new regulations for placing employees confined to wheelchairs in protected areas. [18048]

§ Mr. Arbuthnot
My Department's arrangements for employees confined to wheelchairs follow building regulations and British standards which apply alike to Government Departments and the private sector. No departmental assessment was therefore necessary.

§ Ms Lynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's plans to introduce rooms specified for employees confined to wheelchairs in the event of a fire. [18044]

§ Mr. Arbuthnot
MOD complies with building regulations and British standards which apply equally to other Government Departments and the private sector. The Ministry is satisfied that as they stand these deal adequately with fireproof areas for the protection of all staff, including disabled people, and has no plans to introduce further measures.

§ Ms Lynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the organisations(a) of disabled people and (b) representing disabled people his Department consulted before formulating its proposed regulations for evacuating disabled employees from Ministry of Defence buildings in the event of fire. [18043]
4W

§ Mr. Arbuthnot
The Ministry's arrangements follow the regulations which apply alike to Government Departments and the private sector. The Ministry of Defence neither has, nor proposes to have, its own regulations for evacuating people from buildings in the event of fire.

§ Ms Lynne
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of introducing fireproof rooms for employees confined to wheelchairs within his Department; and if the rooms will be introduced throughout his Department only in response to the number and distribution of employees already in employment that are confined to wheelchairs. [18045]

§ Mr. Arbuthnot
The need to protect all staff, including disabled people, in the event of fire is a fundamental part of building design embodied in the building regulations and British standards which apply to all MOD buildings. It cannot be presented as a separate cost. Specific local contingency plans are maintained to take account of the number and distribution of employees in wheelchairs.