Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the oral Answer of 10 November 2014, Official Report, column 1164, on firefighters' pensions, how many hours of training in firefighting the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the hon. Member for Portsmouth North, completed.

I have studied Chemical Biological Radiation Nuclear and Damage Control (CBRNDC), including firefighting, as part of my training as a Royal Navy Reservist. This is a mix of academic study and practical exercises carried out at a number of locations including BRNC Dartmouth, Phoenix CBRNDC School and sea-time on a warship, in my case HMS Bulwark during the Cougar 13 deployment. I have carried out this training over the last 3 years. It is not possible to calculate the number of hours spent on firefighting training but the syllabus for this requirement of Royal Naval Reservist training follows that in the Royal Navy Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defence Manual BR2170.