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2 Nov 2009 : Column 759W—continued
Council Tax: Wokingham
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties in the local authority area of Wokingham are recorded with each individual (a) dwelling house code and (b) value significant code, including each individual (i) type, (ii) number of rooms, (iii) number of bedrooms, (iv) number of bathrooms, (v) floors, (vi) floor level, (vii) parking, (viii) garaging, (ix) conservatory type, (x) age, (xi) outbuilding and (xii) modernisation code according to electronic records held by the Valuation Office Agency; and if he will make a statement. [296200]
Barbara Follett: The number of properties with each individual dwelling house code and each value significant code, for all local authority areas in England, have been placed in the Library of the House.
Departmental Internet
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the cost of maintaining and updating its Twitter account in 2009-10; and how many staff are responsible for updating the account. [296851]
Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 October 2009, Official Report, column 966W, to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening).
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what training is available to (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department in respect of the delivery of value for money savings. [296055]
Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government is committed to ensuring that everyone at every grade has the skills and knowledge they need to deliver effectively for the Department.
This involves a strategic learning and development offer which provides a wide and flexible range of support through core programmes and specific events for individuals.
No specific training for Ministers or officials on the delivery of value for money is offered at this time.
Fire Services
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will require local authorities to ensure that (a) there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of the FiReControl project and (b) (i) the Fire Brigades Union will be fully recognised within the workplace and (ii) the Fire Service Grey Book pay, terms and conditions will apply to the service after implementation of the project. [295736]
Mr. Malik: Decisions on staffing levels, terms and conditions and union recognition are for the employers—currently the fire and rescue authorities and then the local authority controlled companies and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority once the regional control centres are up-and-running.
Under TUPE legislation, transferring staff’s current terms and conditions will transfer with them to the regional control centre. Union recognition is a matter for the employers but if a sufficient percentage of staff are members of a union then recognition is automatic.
Redundancies should be a last resort. The Department has provided guidance to the employers to encourage them to explore all possible avenues including, for example, redeployment and retraining.
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made on the implementation of the FiReControl programme; and what difficulties have been encountered in that implementation. [295876]
Mr. Malik: Good progress has been made on a number of fronts: eight out of nine regional control centres (RCCs) buildings have been built, fire and rescue authorities have come together to form regional local authority controlled companies to run the RCCs and equipment installation in local fire stations is on track.
However, in July we rescheduled the implementation timetable. It became clear that technical problems with developing the IT system in a way which met all our and the fire and rescue services’ requirements meant that further time would be needed to complete the project. The first RCCs are scheduled to take calls from May 2011.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new fire stations were built in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Shropshire in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008. [296002]
Mr. Malik: This information, which is reported in financial year returns to the Department, is shown in the table.
| Number of new fire stations in England, the West Midlands region and Shropshire 2006-07 to 2008-09 | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Source: Annual returns to CLG | |||
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the initial estimate of the cost of the regional FiReControl project was; and what his most recent estimate is of the final cost of the project. [296413]
Mr. Malik [holding answer 29 October 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Copeland (Mr. Reed) today (PQ 295869).
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what evidence was assessed by his Department prior to proposing to create one body responsible for the governance of Firebuy Limited, FireLink and FiReControl; and if he will make a statement. [296547]
Mr. Malik: The proposal that in future the national procurement function for the fire and rescue service should be carried out in a larger body also responsible for the management of the service contracts for the Fire and Resilience Programme, once they become operational, was based on an analysis of the options for the future delivery of these roles. The basis for the proposal and the options considered were in the Department's consultation paper on Fire and Resilience Programme In-Service Management published on 13 July 2009.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many responses were received in respect of the consultation which closed on 5 October, on merging the functions of Firebuy Limited, FireLink and FiReControl into one body; and if he will make a statement. [296548]
Mr. Malik: The Department received 39 responses to the Fire and Resilience Programme In-Service Management Consultation.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the In-Service Management Consultation document in respect of the amalgamation into a new body of the existing FiReControl, FireLink and Firebuy functions; and if he will make a statement. [296550]
Mr. Malik: The consultation on the options for the in-service management of the Fire and Resilience Programme was published on the Department's website in July 2009. A copy will be placed in the Library. The Department will publish its response following the consultation later in the year.
Fire Services: Closures
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire stations were closed in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Shropshire in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008. [295993]
Mr. Malik: This information, which is reported in financial year returns to the Department, is shown in the following table.
| Number of fire station s closed in England, the West Midlands region and Shropshire, 2006-07 to 2008-09 | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Source: Annual returns to CLG. | |||
Fire Services: Cumbria
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations he has received from Cumbria County Council on the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service. [295870]
Mr. Malik: In the last six months, CLG has received responses from Cumbria fire and rescue service to formal consultations on the transfer of New Dimension assets to fire and rescue services and on the Formula Grant Review.
CLG has also received a letter from Councillor Gary Strong of Cumbria county council about the FiReControl project.
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what effect the implementation of the FiReControl programme will have on frontline fire and rescue services in Copeland. [295875]
Mr. Malik: The FiReControl network will ensure that Copeland firefighters and control room staff are supported by the best technology to do their job.
Firefighters will have real-time safety information and incident details through in-cab data terminals; automatic tracking of fire appliances will enable the nearest appropriate appliances to be sent to an incident; and emergency calls from the public will be automatically located.
The network of control centres will share calls and data across the national network to manage even the highest call volumes to provide a more resilient service.
Fire Services: Equal Opportunities
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether participation in the Fire Service High Potential Development Programme is part of the programme of enhanced diversity targets agreed between his Department and fire and rescue services; and if he will make a statement. [296522]
Mr. Malik: Participation in the pilot High Potential Leadership Programme is a voluntary commitment by a limited number of fire and rescue services. The Fire and Rescue Service Equality and Diversity Strategy 2008-18 recognises the part that such a programme can play in ensuring that equality and diversity are fully integrated into all aspects of the service. The programme is not, however, linked to the more stretching targets agreed between the Department and fire and rescue services.
Fire Services: Equality
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) targets and (b) guidance his Department has issued to fire and rescue authorities on diversity and equality in their employment of staff. [295694]
Mr. Malik: In May 2008 Communities and Local Government published the Fire and Rescue Service Equality and Diversity Strategy 2008-18 which provides guidance and direction for fire and rescue authorities on equality and diversity issues. The Fire and Rescue Service National Framework requires fire and rescue authorities to implement the provisions of the strategy.
The strategy includes the requirement for each fire and rescue authority to have recruitment, progression and retention targets for its service. The targets apply to
women in the operational sector and to people from minority ethnic background across all sectors of the service. The targets to be met by each fire and rescue authority, as set out in the strategy, are:
By 2013 a minimum of 15 per cent. of new entrants to the operational sector to be women;
By 2013 recruitment of minority ethnic staff across the whole organisation to be at the same percentage as the minority ethnic representation in the local working population, and
By 2013 parity in rates of retention and progression between minority ethnic and white employees, and between men and women.
In December 2008 Communities and Local Government invited all fire and rescue authorities to submit proposals for their recruitment targets. Their targets were published by Communities and Local Government in the Fire and Rescue Service Annual Equality and Diversity Report in March 2009.
Fire Services: Equipment
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will introduce national standards for fire service equipment. [295739]
Mr. Malik: There are existing British, European and international standards which ensure that fire service equipment is fit for purpose. Except for national resilience purposes, it is for each fire and rescue authority to determine the equipment needed to meet its requirements.
Fire Services: Finance
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) originally estimated costs, (b) costs to date and (c) estimated future costs of implementing the FiReControl programme are. [295869]
Mr. Malik: The basic initial costs and timescales of implementing the FiReControl project, as originally estimated in 2004, were £120 million. Following more detailed work project costs were updated to include funding to fire and rescue authorities for local and regional implementation activity, the costs of the regional control centre building leases and the costs of equipment to be installed in every fire station in England to support improved mobilisation.
The expenditure to date on the project is approximately £190 million. The estimated full cost of implementing FiReControl is £420 million.
Fire Services: Manpower
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Fire Service firefighters were employed by the Fire and Rescue Service in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Shropshire in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008. [295994]
Mr. Malik: The number of firefighters employed in fire and rescue services for (a) England, (b) the West Midlands region and (c) Shropshire are shown in the following table.
| Number of firefighters in fire and rescue services in England, the West Midlands region and Shropshire, 2006-08 | ||||||
| 31 March 2006 | 31 March 2007 | 31 March 2008 | ||||
| Whole - time | Retained duty system | Whole - time | Retained duty system | Whole - time | Retained duty system | |
| Source: Annual returns to CLG. | ||||||
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