§ Rev. Martin SmythTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) how much money has been allocated to disabled facilities grants in this financial year; [42544]
(2) how many disabled facilities grants have been processed for children in the last 12 months; [42542]
(3) how many disabled facilities grants have been processed for (a) adults and (b) children in the last two years. [42543]
1201W
§ Ms KeebleThe Government have allocated £87 million towards the expenditure by local authorities in England on Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) for 2001–02. This meets 60 per cent. of the total cost of such grants, the remaining 40 per cent. being met from elsewhere in local authorities' budgets. The latest estimate on the number of DFGs made in England is 28,097 for 2001–02. The Government do not collect data separately on the number of grants paid to adults or children.
Scheme Allocation (£ million) Purpose Avon/Somerset/Gloucestershire 16.900 Joint training centre Cornwall 12,257 Estate management and replacement of fire stations Greater Manchester 4.790 Fire station/divisional headquarters London 45.000 Management and maintenance of vehicles and operational equipment North Yorkshire 6.360 Fire station/training centre Revenue support based on the level of PFI credits is paid once the scheme has come into operation.
£560,000 in total was paid in grant in 1997–98 to meet the development costs for fire service pathfinder schemes, including the ones listed in the table.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 27 February 2002,Official Report, column 1370W, on fire authority funding, if he will list the recipients of the extra £53 million announced for emergency planning, stating in each case (a) the name of the fire authority, (b) the amount awarded and (c) the intended use of the money in each case. [42943]
§ Dr. WhiteheadThe additional resources will be used to procure new equipment, including decontamination facilities and personal protective equipment for firefighters, and to meet training and other revenue costs. Decisions on the deployment of the equipment and allocation of the funding will be taken in the course of procurement. The equipment will include:
- Large volume decontamination shelters and showers
- Water management equipment
- Ancillary equipment eg to provide power, heat and light
- Radiation survey meters
- Personal dosimeters
- Protective clothing
- Masks and filters for respiratory protection
- Transport facilities
- Communications and IT support.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people are employed in the fire service(a) in total and (b) broken down by (i) age, (ii) gender and (iii) ethnic background. [42925]
§ Dr. WhiteheadAt 31 March 2001 there were 49,685 uniformed staff and 6,703 non-uniformed staff employed in the fire services of England and Wales. There were 1,866 women employed in the uniformed sector and 4,032 women employed in the non-uniformed sector. There were 613 minority ethnic uniformed staff and 293 minority ethnic non-uniformed staff.