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15 July 2009 : Column 491W—continued
| (b) (ii) Number of firefighters, Darlington, 1997 to 2008 | ||||
| Headcount( 1) | Strength( 2) | |||
| At 31 March | Whole - time | Retained Duty( 3) | Wholetime( 4) | Retained Duty( 5) |
| n/a = data not available (1) Figures exclude Group Manager and Station Manager grades, therefore report fire-fighter personnel only. (2) Annual return data is for establishment only and is not broken down by station. (3) Darlington has no retained duty fire-fighters. (4) In full-time equivalents (FTEs). (5) In 24-hour units of cover. Figures include volunteers and members of private brigades. Source: Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service | ||||
Fires: Domestic Waste
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps fire authorities have taken to examine the causes of wheeled refuse container fires; and if he will make a statement. [286523]
Mr. Malik: All fires are investigated by fire and rescue services and a most likely cause is determined either by the incident commander or a fire investigation officer.
Local analysis of fire data is undertaken within fire and rescue services to determine trends, such as geographical locations or types of incident, and to inform the Integrated Risk Management Planning process. These data are used internally and are not shared with Communities and Local Government.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the number of wheeled refuse container fires in England in the last 12 months. [286567]
Mr. Malik: The number of wheeled refuse container fires is not yet held centrally and so could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Data on refuse fires are calculated from aggregate monthly returns. These are limited to the total number of refuse and refuse container fires attended by each fire and rescue service. These provide insufficient information to make an estimate on the number of wheeled refuse container fires.
The total number of refuse and refuse container fires is shown in the table for the latest year for which information is available.
The recently implemented electronic incident recording system (IRS) records both the number and location of all incidents attended by fire and rescue services. The number and location of wheeled refuse container fires attended by fire and rescue services will therefore be available, with the first data being for 2009-10.
| Total refuse and refuse container fires, England, 2007( 1) | |
| FRS area | 2007( 1) |
| (1) Data for 2007 are provisional and subject to change Source: CLG | |
Flats: Construction
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will ensure that blocks of flats of a height of 30 metres or more completed or refurbished after April 2007 are fitted with sprinkler systems. [286346]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Building Regulations 2000 require that
"where reasonably necessary to inhibit the spread of fire within the building"
automatic fire suppression systems and/or fire resisting construction should be provided in new buildings.
In April 2007, the guidance given in Approved Document B (Fire safety), which shows one way in which this requirement can be met, was amended to provide that both a sprinkler system and fire resisting construction should be provided in new blocks of flats over 30 m in height.
The building regulations apply to building work. Therefore, where a building is being refurbished and building work is being undertaken, that work will need to comply with the relevant requirements of the regulations and the rest of the building should be made no worse as a result of the work being carried out.
Furthermore, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires those with responsibility for the building (usually the employer, owner or occupier) to carry out a fire risk assessment based on the particular circumstances and use of the premises. Under the order, the responsible person must put in place whatever fire protection measures are adequate and appropriate to mitigate the risk to life in the event of a fire. The order is not prescriptive about what specific fire safety measures are required. This is a matter for the responsible person based on the outcome of their risk assessment.
Green Belt
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what area of land designated as green belt in each county in 1997 has since been dedesignated; and what area of land has been designated as green belt since 1997. [286473]
Mr. Ian Austin: The information requested is not held centrally. However, statistics on the area of green belt land are published in Local Planning Authority Green Belt Statistics: England 2008-09 which can be found at:
The table in Annex 4 provides estimates of the area of green belt by region for 1997 and 2008-09, and for selected intervening years.
Guidance for Local Authorities on Translation of Publications
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for the Wrekin of 4 February 2009, Official Report, column 1292W, on what date Guidance for Local Authorities on Translation of Publications was issued. [286568]
Mr. Malik: Guidance for Local Authorities on Translation of Publications was published on 7 December 2007. It is available from:
Housing: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many affordable homes have been built in (a) Hemel Hempstead constituency, (b) Dacorum and (c) Hertfordshire in each of the last five years; [285895]
(2) how many homes for social rent have been built in (a) Hemel Hempstead constituency, (b) Dacorum and (c) Hertfordshire in each of the last five years. [285896]
Mr. Ian Austin: Information on new homes built for social rent and affordable housing is not available by constituency.
The following table shows the number of new affordable homes built in Dacorum local authority and Hertfordshire in each of the last five years.
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