Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what research his Department has undertaken into the aerobic capacity required by the occupation fitness standards used by fire services that guarantees that firefighters are safe and effective in their ability to complete necessary roles within their occupation.

The Government commissioned report Normal Pension Age for Firefighters found that there was no reason why every firefighter who stayed physically fit could not remain operational until age 60. It also found that where firefighters do lose their fitness, the vast majority are able to regain their fitness levels following a period of extra training. The report can be found at http://www.clg.heywood.co.uk/node/658.

There is no single fitness standard in fire and rescue authorities and Dr Williams' assessment was based on current practices amongst fire and rescue authorities.

Fitness regimes are a matter for local fire authorities as employers and no direct changes to this are being made with the 2015 scheme, which has the same pension age of 60 years as the firefighters pension scheme introduced in 2006.