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Prison Transfers
Mr. Mallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for prison transfers from prisons in (a) England and (b) Wales to (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) the Republic of Ireland and (iii) elsewhere are currently under consideration; and in each category how many applications have been (1) approved and (2) denied in each of the past 10 years; [16231]
- (2) if he will approve outstanding prison transfer applications for Irish prisoners wishing to return to prisons in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the Republic of Ireland. [16232]
Miss Widdecombe: England and Wales are treated as one jurisdiction and separate figures are not held. Repatriation to the Republic of Ireland was not possible until the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons came into force for the Republic on 1 November 1995. Information on applications received before this date is not recorded. Available information for the past 10 years is given in the table:
| Northern Ireland | Other United Kingdom and foreign jurisdictions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transferred | Refusal | Transferred | Refusal | |
| 1986 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 15 |
| 1989 | 15 | 40 | 47 | 17 |
| 1990 | 13 | 36 | 42 | 13 |
| 1991 | 28 | 30 | 45 | 19 |
| 1992 | 20 | 24 | 56 | 16 |
| 1993 | 8 | 9 | 35 | 18 |
| 1994 | 21 | 16 | 27 | 40 |
| 1995 | 16 | 8 | 47 | 73 |
On 22 February, 25 requests for transfer to Northern Ireland, 69 requests for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland and 91 requests for transfer to other United
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Kingdom or foreign jurisdictions were under consideration. All outstanding requests will be determined on their individual merits. To date, no application for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland has been determined.
Mr. Ian McCartney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to carry out investigations in relation to (a) backdraft, (b) flashover and (c) positive pressure ventilation with a view to increasing the safety of firefighters; and if he will make a statement. [16615]
Mr. Sackville:
A Home Office fire research and development group study on flashover and backdraft was published in 1994. Following this research, a supplement to the manual of firemanship entitled "The Behaviour of Fire--Compartment Fires" was published in February 1995. The supplement provides advice and details on the potential for flashover and backdraft. Firefighting tactics most likely to avert or reduce any potential danger are also described.
A further supplement, "Ventilation of Buildings and Structures", is being drafted. This will provide information on the use of ventilation, including operational experience in the United States of America, set in a United Kingdom firefighting context.
A group of representatives of the professional bodies concerned with operational firefighting, including Her Majesty's fire service inspectorate, the Fire Brigades Union and the chief and assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association will be meeting soon to consider what further research, training or advice might be appropriate.
Ms Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many fire appliances attended the blaze at Blue Anchor lane, Bermondsey, London SE16 on Tuesday 13 February; at what times the first appliance arrived and the last appliance left; how many appliances arrived within five minutes of being summoned, and how many arrived within 10 minutes of being summoned; from which stations appliances were sent; and how many firefighters attended; [15839]
Mr. Sackville
[holding answer 19 February 1996]: The deployment of appliances is an operational matter for the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority. I would be grateful, therefore, if the hon. Member would contact the chief officer for the details that she seeks.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of information systems in the fire service. [16671]
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Mr. Sackville:
Fire brigades make much use of information systems, both operationally and for administrative purposes, but the extent of such use in particular brigade areas is a matter for each individual fire authority.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of incidents attended by the fire service in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [16673]
Mr. Sackville:
The number of incidents attended by the fire service in England and Wales for 1989 to 1994 is given on page 23 of Cm 2998, "Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services for England and Wales", presented to Parliament by my right hon. and learned Friend in October 1995 and available in the Library.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current operational assessment of the number of calls per year to be expected in each fire service area; in what year the assessments were last made; what was the actual number of calls received in each fire service area for the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [16677]
Mr. Sackville:
No such assessment has been made. The numbers of fire calls and fire false alarm calls attended by local authority fire brigades in 1993 are given on pages 162 and 52 respectively of the Home Office publication, "Fire Statistics--United Kingdom 1993", which is available in the Library.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning (a) fire service pensions, (b) fire service training, (c) fire service capital investment and (d) standards of fire service cover in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [16670]
Mr. Sackville:
My right hon. and learned Friend has received a number of such representations during the past year. All these subjects have been considered.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change to fire service recommended attendance standards are planned; and if he will make a statement. [16672]
Mr. Sackville:
The nationally agreed standards of fire cover, which are expressed in terms of required attendance times, are under review by the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council. This is in line with a recommendation by the Audit Commission in its recent value for money study on the fire service.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all European Community directives which relate to fire services and fire safety measures, the dates they were implemented and the deadlines for implementation; and if he will outline the key requirements of any directive. [16657]
Mr. Sackville:
Information regarding implementation of European Council directives relating to fire services and fire safety measures is shown in the table.
The health and non-fire safety provisions of the framework and workplace directives were implemented on 1 January 1993. An announcement about
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implementation of the outstanding fire safety provisions of these directives will be made shortly. The regulations implementing the safety signs directive include an extended transitional provision for the introduction of fire safety signs.
(2) what investigations are currently being carried out in relation to (a) backdraft, (b) flashover and (c) positive pressure ventilation with a view to increasing the safety of firefighters. [16614]
(2) when the first firefighter reliefs were called out to attend the site of the IRA bombing on Friday 9 February; when the first firefighter reliefs arrived and when the firefighter reliefs left; and from which fire stations they were called out. [15840]
| Working title | EC reference | Date of implementation(21) | Deadline for implementation(22) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Framework directive | 89/391/EEC | 1 January 1993 | 1 January 1993 |
| Workplace directive | 89/654/EEC | 1 January 1993 | 1 January 1993 |
| Construction sites directive | 92/57/EEC | 31 March 1995 | 1 January 1994 |
| Safety signs directive | 92/58/EEC | 1 April 1996 | 24 December 1994 |
| Boreholes Directive | 92/91/EEC | 1 October 1995 | 3 November 1994 |
| Mines and quarries directive | 92/104/EEC | 26 October 1995 | 3 December 1994 |
(21) The date of implementation identifies the earliest date on which regulations came into force implementing some or all of the requirements of the directive.
(22) The EC deadline for implementation indicates the date from when implementing regulations should be in force.
Mr. Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce a funding allocation for fire safety campaigning conducted by fire brigades; and if he will make a statement. [16658]
Mr. Sackville: The fire standard spending assessment distributional formula for England has been adjusted for 1996-97 to include indicators to reflect the work that fire brigades do on fire safety enforcement and education.
Mr. Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has conducted on the relationship between fire prevention campaigning and levels of deaths and injuries caused by fire; and if he will make a statement. [16659]
Mr. Sackville: Research is carried out following each national campaign to determine whether its message has been understood. It is difficult to establish a direct casual link between fire safety publicity and reductions in fire casualties. A number of factors can affect trends in fire casualties. However, the fact that the latest available statistics show fire deaths at their lowest level for 30 years may be due to the effectiveness of fire safety campaigns, and fire prevention work carried out by fire brigades.
Mr. Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce a statutory requirement for fire safety campaigning to be conducted by fire brigades; and if he will make a statement. [16663]
Mr. Sackville:
Brigades are already aware of importance of education and publicity in preventing fires; and several have conducted some very successful local campaigns. Moreover, the Government have very recently recognised the importance of this work by including a fire safety education factor in the formula used for calculating standard spending assessments for the fire service. But the question of whether or not it would be appropriate to introduce a statutory duty is still under review. Following last year's recommendation by the Audit Commission in
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its report, "In the Line of Fire", the matter is being considered by the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, which includes representatives of both fire authorities and the fire service. We will look very carefully at whatever advice they may offer.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the percentage of fire service budgets allocated to pensions provisions for the last year for which figures are available; what is the projected percentage of the fire service total budget to be allocated to pension provision by the year 2000; and if he will make a statement. [16664]
Mr. Sackville:
Returns from fire authorities in England show that for the year 1993-94, net expenditure on firefighters' pensions represented 12 per cent. of the total fire service revenue expenditure. Over recent years, there has been a generally upward trend in the proportion of pensions expenditure against total expenditure for fire brigades. This trend is expected to continue in the short term.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost of the transition to new combined authorities for fire services; and if he will make a statement. [16666]
Mr. Sackville:
To date, seven combined fire authorities have been established for England and Wales. At present, they are operating as shadow authorities in preparation for taking over their full functions from 1 April. More combined fire authorities will be established over the next two years as local government reorganisation takes effect in other areas of England. Supplementary credit approvals of up to £3.875 million have been provisionally set aside by the Home Office to meet the transitional costs which may arise in respect of combined fire authorities in England and Wales during 1996-97.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total budget allocation to training in the fire service for each of the last five years for which figures are available; what is the predicted total budget allocated to training in the fire service for the next two years; and if he will make a statement. [16667]
Mr. Sackville:
These figures are not held centrally. It is for each fire authority to set a budget for training which ensures that it fulfils its statutory obligations under the Fire Services Act 1947.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on fire service pensions. [16668]
Mr. Sackville:
A review of the firefighters' pension scheme was announced in March 1994. The review group's terms of reference require it to identify ways in which the scheme could be made more comparable to other public service schemes. I hope that it will be possible to circulate a consultation document to the fire service organisations shortly.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total capital investment in the fire service for each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [16669]
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Mr. Sackville:
Total capital expenditure (gross) in respect of the fire service in England and Wales was as follows:
| Outturn | |
|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 52.865 |
| 1991-92 | 55.700 |
| 1992-93 | 64.195 |
| 1993-94 | 70.726 |
| 1994-95 (provisional) | 72.377 |
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