§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister in relation to the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, what the total Government grant was in the last financial year; for what purposes it was given; for what reason the college made a loss in the last financial year; and why the annual accounts for the year ended March 2003 state that the college is unlikely to do better than break-even in the year to 31 March 2004. [145789]
§ Phil HopeGrant totalling £625,000 was paid to the Fire Service College in 2002–03, for the Brigade Command Course. The College's ability to trade in both the latter part of 2002–03 and the first quarter of 2003–04 was adversely affected by the fire dispute, which resulted in the cancellation of courses. Overseas trading by the College was also constrained by the international situation. The introduction of the Integrated Personal Development System (IPDS) in the UK Fire and Rescue Service from November 2003 is requiring the development of a new suite of IPDS-compliant training courses by the College to replace traditional courses. This has caused some disruption in business as fire and rescue services adapted to the new requirements and delayed the take-up of some College training capacity this year.
§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps are being taken to integrate the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, training facilities with regional fire service training facilities; what steps are being taken to encourage foreign fire service training business to the college; what investigations are being undertaken into the feasibility of privatising or other alternative trading methods for the college; and what other trading opportunities the college is investigating. [145790]
§ Phil HopeThe White Paper "Our Fire and Rescue Service" published in June 2003 sets out a vision for the Fire Service College as a national Centre of Excellence for the UK Fire and Rescue Service (UKFRS), and further details on the College's role are provided in the Draft Fire and Rescue National Framework published in December 2003. The Framework trails a national workforce development strategy that will set out the respective roles for training providers at national, regional and local level. There are no specific proposals to integrate the College's facilities with regional fire service training facilities.
The College is working to develop other markets both in the UK fire industry and with overseas fire and rescue services. It is developing an enhanced training portfolio, with increased emphasis on outreach training, and distance and e-learning capabilities. Options for involving private sector partners in aspects of the College's trading are being actively explored.