Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2017 to Question 3064 how many fire experts are employed by the Health and Safety Executive; and if he will list their specialisms.

HSE's regulatory responsibility covers process fire precautions - the management of fire and explosion risks arising from work processes such as chemical manufacturing, or the storage of dangerous substances at work.

HSE employs staff with the expertise required to carry out the necessary inspections, investigations and assessments on the sites for which it has regulatory responsibility. With regards to the regulation of fire and explosion risks, HSE employs a total of 70 specialists with expertise in a range of industrial fire-related areas:

• 20 specialist process safety inspectors with technical knowledge of the hazards and risks of fires and explosions arising from onshore industrial activities. Their work focuses on ensuring businesses have suitable equipment and procedures to prevent fires and explosions arising from the processes they undertake, and measures to mitigate in the event of an incident.

• 9 explosives inspectors who undertake similar functions on licensed explosives sites as well as providing technical knowledge regarding explosives across HSE.

• 11 offshore process engineering and fire and explosion specialists.

• 27 specialists in frequency and consequence modelling of industrial process fires such as fireballs and jet fires resulting from gas escapes.

• 3 experts with experience in relevant applied research and additional knowledge of fire & explosions in factories, chemical sites, warehouses, and unusual environments such as buildings under construction and, tunnels.