Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many planning appeals from Northumberland have been heard by Ministers since 2010.
Answered by Lord Sharma
In the period 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2017, 275 appeals were decided for the unitary authority Northumberland County Council and a further 8 for the Northumberland National Park Authority (NPA). All those for the NPA were decided by Inspectors under delegated powers. 9 of the 275 for the unitary authority were decided by the Secretary of State, with the remainder by Inspectors under delegated powers.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory duty for the fire and rescue service to respond to a major flooding incident; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mike Penning
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.
Both the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 detail the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities, in respect of both emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including from flooding. Fire and rescue authorities are expected to undertake integrated risk management planning, dovetailed with the community risk register overseen by the Local Resilience Forum (a multi-agency grouping of which fire and rescue authorities are key members). Integrated Risk Management Plans identify the full range of risks that an authority’s service is expected to respond to and are subject to consultation. The National Fire Framework published in July 2012 and given statutory effect in August 2012 makes this clear and I believe that fire and rescue authorities are fully competent to deliver on this.
The Government has had no recent representations on this arrangement and in light of how well fire services have responded to recent flooding suggests there is no need for review.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on introducing a statutory duty on the fire and rescue service to respond to major flooding; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mike Penning
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.
Both the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 detail the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities, in respect of both emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including from flooding. Fire and rescue authorities are expected to undertake integrated risk management planning, dovetailed with the community risk register overseen by the Local Resilience Forum (a multi-agency grouping of which fire and rescue authorities are key members). Integrated Risk Management Plans identify the full range of risks that an authority’s service is expected to respond to and are subject to consultation. The National Fire Framework published in July 2012 and given statutory effect in August 2012 makes this clear and I believe that fire and rescue authorities are fully competent to deliver on this.
The Government has had no recent representations on this arrangement and in light of how well fire services have responded to recent flooding suggests there is no need for review.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he and his ministerial colleagues have had with the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the creation of a statutory duty on firefighters in England and Wales to respond to flooding.
Answered by Mike Penning
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.
Both the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 detail the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities, in respect of both emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including from flooding. Fire and rescue authorities are expected to undertake integrated risk management planning, dovetailed with the community risk register overseen by the Local Resilience Forum (a multi-agency grouping of which fire and rescue authorities are key members). Integrated Risk Management Plans identify the full range of risks that an authority’s service is expected to respond to and are subject to consultation. The National Fire Framework published in July 2012 and given statutory effect in August 2012 makes this clear and I believe that fire and rescue authorities are fully competent to deliver on this.
The Government has had no recent representations on this arrangement and in light of how well fire services have responded to recent flooding suggests there is no need for review.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect reductions in public spending have had on the ability of fire and rescue services to respond to floods and other emergencies as a result of Storm Desmond.
Answered by Mike Penning
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.
The Government has been in constant contact with local responders and over 22 Fire and Rescue Services have provided mutual aid to areas with support from others including the RNLI. The Government has activated the Bellwin Scheme, funding which supports local authorities in the costs associated with an emergency response.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what arrangements have been made to ensure that fire cover remains available whilst fire crews are responding to major floods.
Answered by Mike Penning
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 requires that fire and rescue services have plans in place, working with local partners, to deal with emergencies such as flooding, and to ensure that the appropriate level of resource is available. Fire and rescue authorities are also required by the statutory Fire and Rescue National Framework for England to produce Integrated Risk Management Plans which identify the full range of risks to which an authority’s service is expected to respond, and to consult the local community on those plans.
In addition, fire and rescue authorities’ mutual aid arrangements are well established under Section 13 and Section 16 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. These arrangements ensure continuity of service provision across authority boundaries, through mutual assistance from supporting authorities and other agencies other than the host fire and rescue authorities. The National Coordination and Advisory Framework, a collaborative arrangement between the Government, the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser and Chief Fire Officers Association, is in place to both support and supplement these arrangements.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities affected by the recent flooding have applied to his Department for funding under the Bellwin scheme.
Answered by Marcus Jones
As at 16 December, the 11 local authorities listed below had registered for financial support from the Bellwin scheme for the December 2015 severe weather events. More local authorities are expected to register for the scheme in the coming days and weeks.
Allerdale Borough Council
Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council
Carlisle City Council
Copeland District Council
Cumbria County Council
Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner
Eden District Council
Lancaster City Council
Northumberland County Council
South Lakedale District Council
Wyre Borough Council