§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many(a) full-time and (b) full-time equivalent firefighters there were in (i) Chesham and Amersham and (ii) Buckinghamshire in each of the last five years. [81170]
§ Mr. LeslieStatutory responsibility for the provision of fire services rests locally with the fire authority, in this case the Buckinghamsire, and Milton Keynes Fire Authority. The readily available information is as follows.
Amersham and Chestham Firefighter posts Firefighter posts Wholetime Retained Wholetime Retained 31 December 1997 17 12 0 12 31 March 1999 14 12 3 12 31 March 2000 14 12 0 12 31 March 2001 14 12 0 12 31 March 2002 14 12 0 12
Buckinghamshire Firefighter strength Wholetime1 Retained2 31 December 1997 300 156 31 March 1999 305 152 31 March 2000 307 151 31 March 2001 292 152 31 March 2002 304 143 1 In full-time equivalents 2 In units of 24 hour cover