HC Deb 23 November 2001 vol 375 c501W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target for reducing the incidence of fire-related deaths in the home. [16921]

Dr. Whitehead

The Department's public service agreement target looks for an average 20 per cent. reduction in the number of deaths from the base-line figure of 379 (the average over the years April 1994 to March 1999) for the period April 1999 to March 2004—giving a target of 303 (averaged over the five years).

Our statistics show an encouraging trend in the overall reduction of accidental deaths in the home. We achieved our first milestone (1999–2000); the latest set of figures indicate that the Department is not far short of achieving the second milestone (2000–01) where we would hope to record no more than 327 deaths nationally (ie England and Wales). The latest figures for the calendar year 2000 indicate that about 326 died in accidental dwelling fires, in this period. This latest figure also compares with 315 deaths recorded in the previous year (1999).

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target for implementing fire cover standards. [16919]

Dr. Whitehead

The task group on the fire cover review expects to deliver its final report to the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council in March 2002.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason the public service agreement target for reducing the incidence of fire-related deaths in the home in 2000–01 was higher than the outturn in 1999–2000. [16920]

Dr. Whitehead

The public service agreement target for accidental dwelling fire deaths measures reductions over five years. Because the number of fire deaths per year are subject to variations, it is necessary to take an average over five years to provide a more realistic measure of Government's ability to reduce preventable fire deaths.

The milestones were set in such a way so as to aim for a uniform reduction each year until the target is reached in year five.