§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the total numbers of fires in the UK in(a) 1998–1999 and (b) 1999–2000 were in each fire authority area. [159769]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe response is shown in the table.
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Number of fires1.2 in the UK and percentage of the total by fire authority area 1998–993 1999–20003 Number % Number % United Kingdom 405,174 — 487,425 — England and Wales 40,632 84 415,563 85 England 315,489 78 384,233 79 England (Non Met Counties) 170,475 42 205,082 42 Avon 5,908 1 7,132 1 Bedfordshire 2,817 1 3,518 1 Berkshire 3,830 1 4,808 1 Buckinghamshire 3,895 1 4,920 1 Cambridgeshire 3,497 1 4,165 1 Cheshire 5,996 1 7,336 2 Cleveland 5,893 1 8,353 2 Cornwall 2,338 1 2,697 1 Cumbria 3,065 1 3,679 1 Derbyshire 4,562 1 5,448 1 Devon 5,771 1 6,532 1 Dorset 3,164 1 3,606 1 Durham 5,357 1 6,666 1 East Sussex 4,063 1 4,994 1 Essex 7,360 2 9,195 2 Gloucestershire 2,673 1 2,887 1 Hampshire 8,089 2 9,547 2 Hereford and Worcester 3,345 1 3,832 1 Hertfordshire 4,552 1 5,521 1
Table 3. Percentage of incidents at which the attendance times met the standards of fire cover 1999–2000 Total incidents Successes Percentage of successes North Wales 1— 1— 1— North Yorkshire 1— 1— 1— Nottinghamshire 1— 1— 1— Tyne and Wear 1— 1— 1— Total 250,110 240,445 96.1 1 Not available
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the standards of fire cover were in percentage terms in Merseyside in(a) January 1998 to January 1999 and (b) January 1999 to January 2000. [159765]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Home Office, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Audit Commission have agreed three Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI) to measure how well brigades are meeting the standards of fire cover. However the records held centrally are catalogued by fiscal year and cannot be converted to a calendar year basis. The records for Merseyside are shown in the table for fiscal years 1998–99 and 1999–2000.
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Number of fires1,2 in the UK and percentage of the total by fire authority area 1998–993 1999–20003 Number % Number % Humberside 7,762 2 9,006 2 Isle of Wight 659 0 678 0 Kent 8,825 2 10,762 2 Lancashire 10,807 3 12,958 3 Leicestershire 5,058 1 5,808 1 Lincolnshire 2,985 1 3,555 1 Norfolk 3,532 1 3,838 1 North Yorkshire 2,957 1 3,493 1 Northamptonshire 4,300 1 4,675 1 Northumberland 2,088 1 2,864 1 Nottinghamshire 6,665 2 9,231 2 Oxfordshire 2,946 1 3,141 1 Shropshire 2,599 1 3,141 1 Somerset 2,359 1 2,770 1 Staffordshire 6,165 2 7,390 2 Suffolk 2,537 1 2,843 1 Surrey 3,663 1 4,475 1 Warwickshire 2,599 1 3,107 1 West Sussex 3,470 1 3,974 1 Wiltshire 2,314 1 2,528 1 Isles of Scilly 10 0 7 0 England (Met Counties) 145,014 36 179,151 37 Greater Manchester 24,698 6 30,982 6 Merseyside 17,292 4 22,592 5 South Yorkshire 10,741 3 13,292 3 Tyne and Wear 13,005 3 16,304 3 West Midlands 20,923 5 25,822 5 West Yorkshire 17,533 4 20,763 4 Greater London4 40,822 10 49,396 6 Wales 25,143 6 31,331 6 North Wales 4,582 1 5,508 1 Mid and West Wales 6,715 2 8,513 2 South Wales 13,846 3 17,310 4
Number of fires1,2 in the UK and percentage of the total by fire authority area 1998–993 1999–20003 Number % Number % Northern Ireland 18,007 4 18,552 4 Scotland 46,535 11 53,310 11 Strathclyde 24,146 6 27,219 6 Highland and Islands 2,345 1 2,284 0 Grampian 3,570 1 3,964 1 Tayside 3,669 1 4,334 1 Lothian and Borders 7,149 2 9,508 2 Fife 2,766 1 3,081 1 Central 1,945 0 2,015 0 Dumfries 945 0 904 0 1 Fires include primary (mainly property), secondary (mainly outdoors) and chimney fires 2 Includes 'late' calls and heat and smoke damage incidents 3 Provisional 4 Includes estimates for missing data—secondary and chimney fires (London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority Q1 2000)