Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure national standards in the training of fire service personnel.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for ensuring that firefighters receive the training they need in order to safely respond to the wide range of incidents that they attend. The National Fire Chiefs Council maintains national operational guidance for fire and rescue services to draw upon when developing operational policies, procedures and training.
The Home Office funds the independent Fire Standards Board (FSB) to develop and maintain a comprehensive set of professional standards for fire and rescue services in England. The FSB has published 19 national standards for fire and rescue services covering a range of topics from emergency response driving to leading and developing people and a code of ethics.
The Home Office will continue to work with stakeholders to build on the work of the FSB in the context of the Government’s fire and rescue service reform agenda.
Asked by: Alex Ballinger (Labour - Halesowen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming spousal visa regulations to (a) reduce the 10-year duration, (b) remove renewals and (c) prevent penalisation due to a partner's benefit claims.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Family Immigration Rules provide the requirements to be met for those seeking to establish or maintain their family life in the UK and these rules are kept under regular review to ensure that there are clear incentives to comply with the rules and clear disincentives for failing to do so. Specifically, on 10 September the Home Secretary commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules, and we will reflect any recommendations arising from that review.