Oral Answers to Questions

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Monday 4th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

9. What steps his Department is taking in response to fire services’ ageing workforces.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

12. What steps his Department is taking in response to fire services’ ageing workforces.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hurd]

Yes, because we believe the fire system has the resources it needs to do the job against a backdrop of falling demand for statutory fire services. Of course, the system is sitting on over £600 million of reserves, which have grown by over £0.25 billion since 2011.

[Grahame Morris]

The ageing work profile among our firefighters is partially a result of changes to the firefighters’ pension scheme. What assessment has the Minister made of the number of redeployment opportunities for firefighters who are compelled to work to the age of 60?

[Mr Hurd]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. The average age of our firefighters is 42, and we have more than 1,000 firefighters who are over 56, which makes it extremely important that fire authorities do not just assess fitness but help firefighters to maintain and develop their fitness and give firefighters all the necessary support and protection when there is a problem so they can continue in their operational duties. That is set out in the statutory fire and rescue national framework, and it will be the subject of independent inspection when independent inspection starts this year.