Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 15 per cent reduction in central government funding for English fire services over the period 2016-17 to 2019-20 on the ability of those services to respond to high-rise fires.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Nothing is more important than keeping the public safe and the Government recognise the vital role firefighters continue to play in protecting communities. All fire and rescue services have a capability to fight high rise fires. Regular engagement takes place with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) which represents the fire and rescue sector to Government.
They are also required to have integrated risk management plans, which target resources to best protect their communities. Fire & Rescue Authorities have a statutory requirement to have mutual assistance arrangements in place to provide additional support in the event of a major incident occurring. This is augmented by Home Office supported national resilience capabilities.
Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work and will receive around £2.3 billion in 2019/20. Single purpose fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 2.3% in cash terms in 2019/20 and an overall increase of 0.3% from 2015/16 to 2019/20.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to increase ethnic diversity in the fire and rescue service.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Diversity in fire and rescue services is not an optional extra and Government has been active in driving reform in this vital area.
As well as publishing workforce diversity data, we have established a new inspection regime which is shining a light on local fire and rescue services. In August 2018 the Home Office launched a national campaign to highlight fire and rescue as a career for underrepresented groups, working with sector leaders who are ultimately responsible for recruitment.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on awarding the Long Service and Good Conduct medal to firefighters working for the Ministry of Defence who are contracted to an external organisation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
No discussions on this specific issue have taken place.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of health screening procedures to protect firefighters from carcinogen-related diseases.
Answered by Nick Hurd
It is the responsibility of individual fire and rescue authorities, as employers, to ensure that health screening and blood tests, suitable for the risks faced, are available to their firefighters.
There have been no discussions between the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the inclusion of effluents and carcinogens in public health checks after large-scale fires.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the ability of firefighter health screening to detect cancers at an early stage.
Answered by Nick Hurd
It is the responsibility of individual fire and rescue authorities, as employers, to ensure that health screening and blood tests, suitable for the risks faced, are available to their firefighters.
There have been no discussions between the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the inclusion of effluents and carcinogens in public health checks after large-scale fires.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regularity of blood tests for firefighters.
Answered by Nick Hurd
It is the responsibility of individual fire and rescue authorities, as employers, to ensure that health screening and blood tests, suitable for the risks faced, are available to their firefighters.
There have been no discussions between the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the inclusion of effluents and carcinogens in public health checks after large-scale fires.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the inclusion of effluents and carcinogens in public health checks after large-scale fires.
Answered by Nick Hurd
It is the responsibility of individual fire and rescue authorities, as employers, to ensure that health screening and blood tests, suitable for the risks faced, are available to their firefighters.
There have been no discussions between the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the inclusion of effluents and carcinogens in public health checks after large-scale fires.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on awarding the Long Service and Good Conduct medal to firefighters working for the Ministry of Defence; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Operational firefighters working for the Ministry of Defence are eligible for the Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct medal unless they have been awarded an Imperial Service medal, Civil Defence Long Service medal or Women’s Voluntary Service medal or clasp for any of the same qualifying period.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of Fire and Rescue services choosing to re-engage fire service staff following their retirement on that service’s commitment to equality and diversity.
Answered by Nick Hurd
In May 2018, revisions were made to the Fire and Rescue National Frame-work for England to discourage fire and rescue services from re-engaging staff following retirement except in exceptional circumstances when such a decision is necessary in the interests of public safety. Any such appointment must be transparent, justifiable and time limited.
No specific assessment has been made of the effect of this practice on equality and diversity, however we have been clear with fire and rescue service leaders that the current lack of diversity amongst firefighters is unacceptable and must be tackled.
Asked by: Karen Lee (Labour - Lincoln)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to amend the immigration visa application process to allow the use of printed bills as acceptable documentation.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
UK Visas and Immigration has made changes to evidential requirements and its front end service arrangements so that customers no longer need to send paper evidence by post, but will either have their evidence scanned at an application centre, or upload their own digital image of their evidence as part of the application process. For many, customers, these changes mean they will be able to retain their key documents while their application is considered.