Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many wildfires there were in the UK between October (a) 2021 and 2022 and (b) 2022 and 2023.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) through the Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System (IRS).
This data includes the location category of the fire and the source of ignition. However, the system does not currently record whether an incident is a wildfire.
The IRS system is currently being replaced and wildfires will be included in the future. Outdoor fire data is published at Outdoor fires in England incident level dataset (expanded) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an estimate of the number of fire stations that have closed per region since 2010.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the latest available data, to year ending March 2021, there were 1,390 fire stations, compared with 1,439 in year ending March 2010, a reduction of 49 stations over the period for the whole of England. In the year ending March 2010, there were 101,159 primary fires in England, compared with 61,922 in year ending March 2021.
Table 1: Number of Fire Stations in England, by year
Year ending March | Number of Fire Stations | England-wide Annual Change |
2010 | 1,439 |
|
2011 | 1,435 | -4 |
2012 | 1,422 | -13 |
2013 | 1,416 | -6 |
2014 | 1,407 | -9 |
2015 | 1,409 | +2 |
2016 | 1,400 | -9 |
2017 | 1,400 | 0 |
2018 | 1,394 | -6 |
2019 | 1,395 | +1 |
2020 | 1,393 | -2 |
2021 | 1,390 | -3 |
Change 2010 to 2021 | -49 | |
Data on fire stations is published in FIRE1403, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/634d2ed6e90e0731aa0fcc59/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire1403-201022.xlsx. This provides the number of fire stations by year for England, and for each fire and rescue service (FRS), designated as either metropolitan or non-metropolitan. We do not publish the data by region, but the numbers for each FRS can be aggregated to provide required regional level data.
Data on the number of primary fires is published in FIRE0102, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65324b0e26b9b1000faf1c5e/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire0102-261023.xlsx.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints relating to the timeliness of decisions from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme his Department has received in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The total number of formal complaints submitted to the Complaint Resolution Team (CRT) that identified a delay in processing a case or reaching a decision as the root cause of the complaint is detailed in the below table:
Calendar Month | Number of complaints |
November 2022 | 4 |
Dec 2022 | 1 |
January 2023 | 0 |
February 2023 | 2 |
March 2023 | 4 |
April 2023 | 3 |
May 2023 | 7 |
June 2023 | 4 |
July 2023 | 4 |
August 2023 | 5 |
September 2023 | 7 |
October 2023 | 5 |
November 2023 | 4 |
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many full time equivalent employees in his Department work on the delivery of Op Fortitude.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
Op Fortitude is coordinated by the Cabinet Office and delivered by third sector partners requiring flexible support depending on the demands on the service.
The Riverside Group is the lead delivery partner for Op FORTITUDE, bringing together Local Authorities, charities and housing providers across the UK to support homeless or rough sleeping veterans.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timeframe is for delivering the recommendations of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review 2022-23.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service on or after 6 April 2005. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to ensuring that the AFCS delivers for those who make a claim, and there are mechanisms of assessment and accountability in place to ensure this is the case.
The AFCS Quinquennial Review (QQR) takes place every five years to ensure the AFCS remains fit for purpose and to identify opportunities for improvement. The AFCS QQR 2022-23 was carried out by an independent reviewer with administrative support, as needed, provided by MOD staff. The MOD is carefully considering all the recommendations and the official Government response will be published by the end of the year, with a timeframe for delivering those recommendations which are accepted.
The full report can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quinquennial-review-of-the-armed-forces-compensation-scheme-2023-headline-findings-and-progress-report
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints his Department received in relation to the transparency of decision making in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not held in the specific detail requested.
The total number of formal complaints submitted to the Complaint Resolution Team (CRT) that identified an AFCS decision as the root cause of the complaint is detailed in the below table:
| Number of complaints |
Financial Year 2022-23 | 8 |
1 April 23 – 31 August 2023 | 0 |
*1 September 23 – 21 November 2023 | 0 |
*Improvements to the complaints process were implemented on 1 September 2023. Any complaint or disagreement related to an AFCS decision is now addressed by this new streamlined appeal process.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what resources were allocated to the delivery of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review 2022-23.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service on or after 6 April 2005. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to ensuring that the AFCS delivers for those who make a claim, and there are mechanisms of assessment and accountability in place to ensure this is the case.
The AFCS Quinquennial Review (QQR) takes place every five years to ensure the AFCS remains fit for purpose and to identify opportunities for improvement. The AFCS QQR 2022-23 was carried out by an independent reviewer with administrative support, as needed, provided by MOD staff. The MOD is carefully considering all the recommendations and the official Government response will be published by the end of the year, with a timeframe for delivering those recommendations which are accepted.
The full report can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quinquennial-review-of-the-armed-forces-compensation-scheme-2023-headline-findings-and-progress-report
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) funding provided by his Department to the Veterans Welfare Service and (b) support provided by that service to service leavers.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 21 November 2023 to Question 2225.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training defence transition service caseworkers receive.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
All Defence Transition Service Case Workers and Veterans Welfare Services Welfare Managers receive role specific induction training on joining the organisation. They are also mandated to complete Civil Service Required Learning which includes safeguarding, prevent, diversity/inclusion, and data protection amongst others which must be completed at mandated intervals throughout each year.
Additional role specific training provision is provided through a combination of peer support and training from external organisations for specific skills and awareness on an as required basis.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training veteran welfare service staff receive.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
All Defence Transition Service Case Workers and Veterans Welfare Services Welfare Managers receive role specific induction training on joining the organisation. They are also mandated to complete Civil Service Required Learning which includes safeguarding, prevent, diversity/inclusion, and data protection amongst others which must be completed at mandated intervals throughout each year.
Additional role specific training provision is provided through a combination of peer support and training from external organisations for specific skills and awareness on an as required basis.