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14 Jul 2005 : Column 1254W—continued
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Business Rate
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the gross cost is of providing transitional relief in the business rates revaluation in England in 2005–06 before downward phasing is applied. [11998]
Mr. Woolas: Our estimate of the cost of the non-domestic rates transitional arrangements for 2005–06 before downward phasing is applied is £520 million.
Caravans
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what definition the Department uses of a caravan for Traveller number counts. [11393]
Yvette Cooper: The guidance issued to local authorities for the completion of the July 2005 Count of Gypsy and Traveller caravans states that the following should be recorded:
all mobile homes, caravans, trailers and other living vehicles on Gypsy/Traveller sites and encampments, whether or not they meet the strict legal definition of a caravan;
tents, benders or yurts where these are the permanent" living accommodation of Gypsies or Travellers.
Conferences
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Department spent on organising or sponsoring conferences in each of the last five years. [10263]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Council Tax
Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total collectable council tax was in each local authority in 2004–05, net of council tax benefit. [12236]
Mr. Woolas: Details of the total collectable council tax in each local authority in 2004–05, net of council tax benefit, are published on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website and can be found under the heading Information For Taxpayers—Council Tax" at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ct.htm.
Departmental Offices
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in which Government office building (a) he and (b) the Minister of State for Communities and Local Government bases his private office. [7445]
Jim Fitzpatrick: There are ODPM ministerial offices in both 26 Whitehall and Eland House, Bressenden Place.
Departmental Telecommunications
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2005, Official Report, column 300W, on departmental telecommunications, how many mobile phones have been reported by Ministers as (a) lost and (b) stolen in each year since the establishment of his Department. [11960]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. The number of mobile telephones that have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen, by Ministers in each year since the establishment of the Office are as follows:
| Number of mobile phones lost | Number of mobile phones stolen | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 May 2002 to 31 March 20030 | 0 | |
| 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 April to 12 July 2005 | 0 | 0 |
Emergency Fire Control Centre
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what independent assessment has been made of plans for a regional emergency fire control centre in the North West. [11186]
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Jim Fitzpatrick: The FiReControl project is a result of several independent reports into the Fire and Rescue Service, including: the Mott MacDonald Future of the Fire Service Control Rooms and Communications' April 2000; The Future of the Fire Service: reducing risks, saving lives", the Independent Review of the Fire Service by Sir George Bain; Mott Macdonald The Future of Fire and Rescue Service Control Rooms in England and Wales: Update 2003" and Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate (HMFSI) Best Value Review of Fire Control and Communications" 2003.
The proposal is for a national network of fire control centres, which supports resilience requirements and delivers efficiencies. There has been no separate assessment of a regional fire control centre in the North West.
English Partnerships Projects
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what projects English Partnerships have funded in Chorley since 1997. [11187]
Yvette Cooper: English Partnerships funded a number of projects in Chorley up until 31 March 1999 when the regional development agencies were set up and responsibility for the projects passed to North West Development Agency. These included the following projects under the Land Reclamation/Derelict Land Grant Schemes—Valley Park Settlement Tanks, Top Lodge and Copper Works Wood and miscellaneous small Derelict Land Grant payments. Payments were also made under the Commission for New Towns obligations for Red Bank Link Road and the transfer of Community Related Assets. Additional funding for the Housing Needs survey was also provided.
Environmental Health Officers (London)
Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many food providers failed environmental health inspections in the last 12 months in each London borough. [2490]
Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
I am advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that the information requested is not available centrally. A summary of enforcement action taken for each London borough during 2003 is shown in the table.
(36)Greenwich submitted partial data for the period 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003.
Notes:
1.Data are collected under the Food Safety Act 1990 and the European Union's Official Control Directive 89/397. Local authorities (LAs) are required by the directive to report the number of establishments receiving formal enforcement actions in a given year.
2.Formal enforcement action" includes written warnings, improvement notices, voluntary closures, and food seizures, surrenders or detentions, formal cautions, prosecutions, prohibition orders and emergency prohibition orders. There may have been more actions but, in accordance with EU guidance for the collection of the official control data (OCD), each type of enforcement action is only recorded once per premises per year.
3.London boroughs undertake both food hygiene and food standards work. The data supplied to the FSA by London boroughs relating to formal enforcement actions do not differentiate between these two separate areas of food law enforcement.
4.Data exclude inspections to vessels.
Source:
FSA, OCD database.
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Fire Crews (Attacks)
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fire officers have been the victims of offences of violence suffered in the course of their employment in each of the last 20 years. [7588]
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many attacks have taken place on fire crews in Lancashire in each of the last three years. [7654]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Fire and Rescue Authorities have always been asked to report assaults on firefighters but reliable statistics are only available from 2004 when a total of 633 attacks were reported, of which six were on fire crews in Lancashire as indicated.
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Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to reduce attacks on fire crews. [6689]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 makes it an offence to obstruct or interfere with an employee of a fire and rescue authority carrying out his or her duties. In addition assault is a criminal offence and there is a hierarchy of criminal offences where injury results. It is important that such incidents are reported and that the fire and rescue authorities collaborate with the police so that offenders are prosecuted and punished appropriately.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1)if he will take steps to ensure accurate collection of statistics on the number of attacks against fire crews; [6690]
(2) what steps he plans to take to ensure that individual members of fire crews (a) are encouraged to volunteer information about attacks and (b) understand the importance of reporting incidents. [6691]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister issued Fire Service Circular 5 of 2005 on 15 February 2005, advising chief fire officers of revised arrangements for reporting Fires and Incidents of Special Interest (FOSIs). This reinforces earlier guidance about reporting and requires information to be supplied about attacks on firefighters. A copy of this circular has been placed in the Library of the House. Ensuring that their employees report all such incidents is a matter for fire and rescue authorities.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will take steps to increase the monitoring and evaluation of campaigns and community-based projects with those who have attacked and who may attack fire crews. [6692]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has commissioned external consultants to evaluate the range of youth diversion/youth intervention schemes currently undertaken by the fire
14 Jul 2005 : Column 1259W
and rescue services and others in order to identify examples which we can disseminate as good practice for fire and rescue authorities to use.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps (a) have been taken and (b) are planned to increase the amount of training provided to fire crews for dynamic risk assessment; and what part such training will play in the strategy for reducing attacks on fire crews. [6693]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The amount of training required to deal with attacks on firefighters, including training in dynamic risk assessment, is a matter for fire and rescue authorities who tailor the training to meet the need. National standards for firefighters (known as the firefighter role map") include a number of elements relating to dynamic risk assessment. I understand that the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) has set up a task and finish group, to review practice relating to assaults on firefighters and to make recommendations. Conflict management training along the lines of that given to police and ambulance workers is being piloted in South Wales and other initiatives are being considered by the CFOA Group.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) short-term and (b) long-term plans he has for (i) continuation and (ii) extension of (A) training of fire crews in dealing with attacks on them and (B) initiatives with (1) local schools and (2) the community in respect of such attacks. [6694]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In relation to A, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 July 2005 (Ref: 6693). In relation to B, fire and rescue authorities have a new duty under Section 6 of the Fire and Rescue Service Act 2004 to promote fire safety. Under the arrangements for Integrated Risk Management Planning, it is for individual authorities to decide how to fulfil that duty, following consultation, but I know that many schemes and partnerships exist where the Fire and Rescue Service engages with the local community and schools. These can have a direct impact on behaviour.
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