HL Deb 16 March 1998 vol 587 cc105-9WA
Lord Howie of Troon

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, between 1990 and the most recent date for which figures are available, there has been a smaller number of casualties per 100 fires in Scotland than in England and Wales; and [HL916]

Table 1: Casualties1 from fires in buildings by location: rates per 1,000 fires, England and Wales, 1990–96
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Location Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal
Total 6.1 117.1 5.8 124.8 6.1 124.5 4.9 123.7 4.6 136.2 5.0 135.1 5.0 141.1
Dwellings total 9.7 166.3 9.0 176.5 9.4 174.8 7.6 175.1 7.3 200.4 8.1 201.6 7.9 203.4
Single occupancy dwelling 11.1 166.0 10.6 177.7 10.8 178.8 9.8 186.3 8.7 217.3 9.6 220.5 9.5 217.1
Multiple occupancy dwelling 9.0 189.9 7.6 199.7 9.0 198.9 5.8 189.2 6.2 208.8 7.0 211.0 7.0 217.5
Other or unspecified dwelling 2.2 49.9 3.6 55.3 1.6 44.1 1.9 44.5 2.6 43.0 2.9 48.5 1.9 31.6
Private garages, sheds etc. 1.8 21.1 1.6 25.7 2.0 23.1 1.0 26.9 0.9 20.6 0.8 22.7 0.5 24.0
Agricultural buildings 0.6 23.6 1.3 17.9 1.7 40.8 0.0 32.7 0.0 28.5 0.0 28.5 0.6 44.5
Industrial premises 0.3 57.0 0.2 67.8 0.9 68.0 0.7 57.8 0.4 70.2 1.2 66.5 0.4 58.7
Mining and quarrying 0.0 129.9 0.0 55.6 0.0 34.5 0.0 114.8 0.0 35.7 0.0 75.0 0.0 32.3
Electricity, gas, water

What is the comparison for casualties per 100 fires between Scotland and England and Wales for the following different types of building:

  1. (a) single occupancy buildings;
  2. (b) multiple occupancy buildings;
  3. (c) other unspecified buildings;
  4. (d) industrial premises;
  5. (e) wholesale distribution;
  6. (f) retail distribution;
  7. (g) sale, repair etc., of vehicles;
  8. (h) hotels;
  9. (i) hostels, holiday camps, etc.;
  10. (j) restaurants;
  11. (k) public houses, clubs, etc.;
  12. (l) transport and communication premises;
  13. (m) banking, finance, insurance, etc.;
  14. (n) public administration, defence, law enforcement, etc.;
  15. (o) schools:
  16. (p) further education;
  17. (q) hospitals: non psychiatric;
  18. (r) hospitals: psychiatric;
  19. (s) other medical care;
  20. (t) elderly persons' homes;
  21. (u) children's homes, homes for the disabled or handicapped;
  22. (v) other miscellaneous services;and [HL917]

Based on the data referred to in question HL916 and HL917, what is the likely trend for the variation in casualties between Scotland and England and Wales until the year 2000 or the nearest suitable date for which the trend can be calculated. [HL918]

Lord Williams of Mostyn

The readily available information on casualties per 1,000 fires in buildings in Scotland and in England and Wales by location is given in the attached tables. Information for 1996 will be available in the autumn.

Fluctuations in the casualty rates both in Scotland and England and Wales have occurred in recent years and can be expected to continue. However, Her Majesty's Government accord high priority to a reduction in fires, fatalities and casualties in the home.

Table 1: Casualties1 from fires in buildings by location: rates per 1,000 fires, England and Wales, 1990–96
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Location Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal
coke, nuclear 0.0 59.9 0.0 20.8 8.0 44.2 0.0 21.8 5.1 35.7 4.3 42.9 3.8 26.9
Metal manufacture 0.0 41.7 3.3 55.7 0.0 103.2 0.0 33.3 3.9 109.4 0.0 48.0 0.0 91.2
Non-metallic mineral products 0.0 44.8 0.0 41.9 6.8 54.4 6.7 340.0 0.0 145.3 0.0 42.2 0.0 61.2
Chemicals 2.3 120.4 0.0 329.0 0.0 96.4 2.8 79.5 0.0 168.9 3.4 189.0 0.0 138.5
Metal goods engineering 0.0 48.2 0.0 54.0 1.2 74.7 0.0 60.6 0.0 103.8 0.0 97.3 0.0 54.4
Vehicle manufacture2 — — — — — — — — 0.0 34.6 0.0 36.4 0.0 94.0
Food, drink and tobacco 0.0 47.7 0.0 41.7 0.0 44.9 3.8 28.3 0.0 63.1 0.0 98.1 0.0 47.6
Textiles, footwear etc. 0.0 40.3 0.0 42.9 0.0 79.3 0.0 41.7 0.0 37.5 0.0 45.2 0.0 36.6
Timber, wood products 1.7 29.5 0.0 95.1 0.0 57.1 0.0 34.4 0.0 31.3 0.0 12.9 0.0 47.9
Paper, printing 0.0 69.1 0.0 23.5 0.0 44.9 0.0 29.7 0.0 54.2 0.0 52.1 1.8 29.3
Rubber, plastics 0.0 109.1 0.0 36.0 0.0 104.9 0.0 115.6 0.0 174.3 3.8 88.1 0.0 66.0
Other Manufacturing 0.0 93.5 0.0 42.9 0.0 33.9 0.0 75.5 0.0 58.1 2.4 64.7 0.0 78.3
Construction 0.0 40.9 0.0 45.4 0.0 54.7 0.0 38.2 0.0 12.5 1.9 26.2 0.0 32.8
Trade hotels etc. 2.1 80.7 1.4 82.1 1.2 78.7 2.2 73.4 1.0 67.7 0.7 65.2 0.4 63.2
Wholesale distribution 2.2 71.0 0.0 72.0 0.0 32.4 0.0 87.8 0.0 64.7 0.0 41.0 0.0 31.9
Recycling 0.0 38.0 0.0 23.3 0.0 14.5 12.3 61.7 0.0 56.0 0.0 42.4 0.0 70.0
Retail distribution 2.6 56.6 1.8 61.9 0.8 60.5 1.2 60.7 0.7 36.7 0.5 44.0 0.8 41.6
Sale, repair etc. of vehicles 4.8 126.6 2.3 96.2 0.0 106.7 2.8 119.2 2.0 91.6 1.0 98.8 0.0 73.3
Hotels 1.1 156.6 3.8 148.2 7.7 129.7 6.7 105.2 6.4 153.8 1.2 160.0 0.0 112.5
Hostels, holiday camps, etc. 0.0 85.0 1.5 99.6 1.3 63.3 1.2 42.8 1.2 114.5 0.0 48.9 0.9 63.3
Restaurants 0.7 58.6 0.0 65.9 0.7 81.2 0.0 65.0 0.0 64.7 0.0 62.6 0.0 75.7
Public houses, clubs etc. 2.1 91.4 0.7 105.4 0.0 97.5 4.9 87.2 0.0 106.3 2.9 96.5 0.7 95.8
Transport and communications premises 0.0 44.5 3.0 47.5 0.0 28.8 0.0 35.1 0.0 34.8 0.0 38.5 0.0 47.7
Banking, finance, insurance, real estate 0.0 31.0 2.1 39.5 2.1 49.0 0.0 44.1 0.0 49.9 0.0 27.7 0.0 26.3
Other services 1.1 72.5 2.0 53.8 2.4 59.3 1.1 66.3 1.7 65.1 1.3 50.9 1.2 63.2
Public administration, defence, law enforcement etc. 2.0 107.9 2.8 123.8 0.0 112.1 0.8 131.5 0.0 129.9 0.0 106.8 0.0 131.7
Schools 0.0 33.4 0.0 23.7 1.3 61.9 0.0 21.7 0.0 44.5 0.0 35.7 0.0 25.5
Further education etc. 0.0 53.7 2.9 23.4 0.0 23.6 0.0 28.3 0.0 33.7 0.0 53.6 0.0 33.7
Hospitals—non psychiatric 0.0 163.1 2.9 38.6 4.1 46.3 2.7 57.5 0.8 65.6 1.4 41.8 2.0 47.5
Hospital—psychiatric 1.6 42.2 3.1 27.3 0.8 26.9 2.7 89.1 0.0 81.5 0.0 41.6 4.2 73.5
Other medical care 0.0 30.8 0.0 33.6 0.0 14.2 0.0 18.0 0.0 11.9 0.0 18.9 0.0 21.6
Recreational and other cultural services 0.0 30.7 0.0 31.4 0.7 30.5 0.0 26.0 3.7 24.4 1.2 14.8 1.3 24.6
Elderly persons home 6.8 77.1 9.6 130.0 9.9 170.2 3.1 118.4 3.8 137.2 6.6 100.8 3.2 92.2
Children's home, homes for disabled or handicapped 1.7 156.5 1.4 87.9 8.2 80.7 0.0 94.3 3.8 88.5 0.0 49.5 0.0 160.5
Other miscellaneous services 0.0 79.6 0.0 40.1 2.4 24.3 1.2 50.9 1.5 73.7 2.8 91.0 0.0 135.9
Other buildings 1.7 15.4 0.6 19.6 0.3 16.9 0.8 12.5 0.2 15.7 0.3 19.7 0.6 27.9
Unspecified buildings 0.0 40.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 25.6 0.0 7.1 0.0 54.4 9.0 13.6 8.3 33.3
1 Excluding late call and heat and smoke damage incidents (not recorded prior to 1994).
2 Included under "metal goods engineering" prior to 1994.

"—" = No fires.

Table 2: Casualties1 from fires in buildings by location: rates per 1,000 fires, Scotland 1990–96
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Location Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal
Total 8.2 124.1 8.7 131.1 6.4 128.5 8.5 131.5 5.6 140.8 6.1 125.6 7.8 140.4
Dwellings total 11.7 165.5 11.9 173.1 8.5 167.9 11.6 172.5 7.9 184.2 8.5 165.3 10.7 185.8
Single occupancy dwelling 13.5 124.3 18.1 135.0 11.0 135.1 16.4 126.9 9.0 149.7 12.4 147.5 16.5 178.3
Multiple occupancy dwelling 11.8 189.5 10.0 196.5 8.1 190.1 10.1 196.6 7.7 204.0 7.3 178.9 8.7 195.7
Other or unspecified dwelling 2.0 57.8 5.8 69.5 0.0 34.0 5.1 73.6 0.0 54.9 2.7 54.1 3.3 36.5
Private garages, sheds, etc. 0.0 8.2 0.0 13.4 0.0 14.2 3.1 27.9 0.0 12.8 0.0 19.8 0.0 15.6
Agricultural buildings 0.0 14.1 0.0 15.5 0.0 42.1 5.5 49.7 0.0 15.0 0.0 36.1 0.0 5.1
Industrial premises 0.0 27.5 1.6 73.9 1.8 23.5 0.0 34.2 3.5 50.8 0.0 25.5 5.4 58.0
Mining and quarrying 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Electricity, gas, watercoke, nuclear 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 272.7 0.0 83.3 0.0 27.0 0.0 0.0
Metal manufacture 0.0 240. 0.0 55.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 187.5
Non-metallic mineral products 0.0 0.0 0.0 285.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 45.5 0.0 181.8 0.0 0.0
Chemicals 0.0 76.9 0.0 68.2 0.0 88.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 29.9 119.4
Metal goods engineering 0.0 0.0 0.0 192.8 7.2 29.0 0.0 .33.3 36.4 54.5 0.0 18.2 0.0 857.1
Vehicle manufacture2 — — — — — — — — 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Food, drink, and tobacco 0.0 29.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 28.6 0.0 14.3 0.0 46.5 0.0 42.6 0.0 11.6
Textiles, footwear etc. 0.0 35.7 0.0 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 32.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Timber, wood products 0.0 34.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 31.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Paper, printing 0.0 20.8 27.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 184.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Rubber, plastics 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 833.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 258.1
Other Manufacturing 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 22.5 0.0 60.6 0.0 29.4
Construction 0.0 11.1 0.0 31.6 0.0 22.7 0.0 27.8 0.0 13.0 0.0 33.3 11.9 23.8
Trade hotels etc. 0.0 36.1 1.7 55.9 1.8 73.6 0.0 44.2 0.0 44.9 2.3 73.6 2.4 55.8
Wholesale distribution 0.0 14.9 0.0 61.2 0.0 20.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 23.3 0.0 27.0 0.0 0.0

Table 2: Casualties1 from fires in buildings by location: rates per 1,000 fires, England and Wales, 1990–96
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Location Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal Fatal Non-fatal
Recycling 0.0 0.0 0.0 500.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 — — 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Retail distribution 0.0 28.3 0.0 35.2 0.0 49.8 0.0 32.7 0.0 32.4 0.0 38.8 0.0 23.0
Sale, repair etc, of vehicles 0.0 76.9 0.0 63.1 9.6 125.0 0.0 105.9 0.0 123.8 7.6 84.0 31.7 190.5
Hotels 0.0 98.2 0.0 88.1 6.1 165.6 0.0 97.2 0.0 103.8 6.4 242.0 6.4 63.7
Hostels, holiday camps, etc. 0.0 18.7 21.7 43.5 0.0 88.9 0.0 32.3 0.0 9.9 0.0 33.6 0.0 51.7
Restaurants 0.0 13.8 0.0 71.4 0.0 32.5 0.0 14.1 0.0 45.5 7.3 94.9 0.0 97.1
Public houses, clubs etc. 0.0 6.7 0.0 44.9 031 55.6 0.0 34.7 0.0 38.5 0.0 64.3 0.0 102.2
Transport and communications premises 0.0 22.0 0.0 61.7 0.0 57.1 0.0 141.0 0.0 23.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.5
Banking, finance, insurance, real estate 0.0 24.1 10.2 30.6 0.0 29.7 0.0 18.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 18.9 0.0 0.0
Other services 0.0 53.7 1.6 34.2 3.5 37.4 2.5 42.9 0.9 76.0 0.9 38.8 0.0 42.7
Public administration, defence, law enforcement etc. 0.0 163.8 0.0 134.6 0.0 108.5 7.4 147.1 0.0 218.8 0.0 59.2 0.0 165.4
Schools 0.0 67.6 0.0 3.1 0.0 13.9 0.0 28.3 00 17.4 0.0 25.4 0.0 10.8
Further education etc. 0.0 23.3 0.0 21.3 0.11 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 21.3 0.0 28.2 0.0 80.0
Hospitals—non psychiatric 0.0 38.1 18.2 45.5 26.5 0.0 0.0 29.7 9.3 102.8 10.1 40.4 0.0 32.0
Hospitals—psychiatric 0.0 6.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 41.1 0.0 64.3 0.0 138.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 61.2
Other medical care 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 117.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 176.5 0.0 0.0
Recreational and other cultural services 0.0 0.0 0.0 29.0 0.0 19.9 0.0 5.6 0.0 98.1 0.0 14.0 0.0 7.9
Elderly persons home 0.0 209.3 0.0 111.1 22.2 66.7 22.7 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0 90.9 0.0 41.2
Children's home, homes for disabled or handicapped 0.0 69.4 0.0 31.3 0.0 43.5 11.6 93.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 27.8 0.0 63.8
Other miscellaneous services 0.0 10.6 0.0 19.0 0.0 11.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 68.6 0.0 12.0
Other buildings 2.5 22.8 2.6 2.6 0.0 25.7 0.0 7.4 0.0 34.8 0.0 13.5 0.0 17.7
Unspecified buildings 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1 Excluding late call and heat and smoke damage incidents (not recorded prior to 1994).
2Included under "metal goods engineering" prior to 1994.

"—"no tires.