To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people (a) were made redundant and (b) retired in each of the last five years at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh; and what the cost of redundancy was in each year. (101258)

The information requested on the number of redundancies and retirements is given in the table. It is not our policy to release information of a personal nature that could be used to identify individuals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the turnover was of foreign business for the last five years at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh; and what the projection is for the 2007-08 financial year. (101259)

The volume of work undertaken by the College for overseas customers for the last five years and forecast for the current year, expressed in terms of income earned is given in the following table. Business planning for the next financial year is currently under way and projections of income from overseas customers have not yet been made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters have been trained at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh in each of the last five years, broken down by rank; and what the predicted figures are for the 2007-08 financial year. (101260)

The numbers of firefighters—both UK Fire and Rescue Service and others—trained at the Fire Service College in each of the last five years are in the table. The breakdown by rank is unavailable because records are not kept in that form. Business planning for 2007-08 is currently under way so student numbers cannot yet be forecast.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what options have been investigated for use of land at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh; and which government organisations and private companies have been consulted. (101261)

Proposals that an area of the Fire Service College (FSC) site be allocated for residential development was included in Cotswold district council's (CDC) First Deposit Local Plan Review 2001-11 but subsequently withdrawn in the Revised Deposit Plan. An appeal was rejected by the Inspector following a public inquiry and no planning allocation for residential development exists. The FSC submitted representations in respect of the Proposed Further Modifications to the Revised Deposit (2001-11) Local Plan in respect of Housing Numbers, but this was rejected by CDC. General consultation on college ideas for development of the site (including options for land disposals) have been held with both CDC Planning Department and the Government office for the south-west (GOSW). No formal planning applications have been submitted.

Two fire-related organisations, the Fire Protection Association and the Institution of Fire Engineers have moved to the college site in the past two years.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Government's policy is on (a) regional fire centre training and (b) central training at the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh; and what assessment she has made of future trends in this field of training. (101262)

The Government's aim for Fire and Rescue Service training is to ensure that best use is made of resources at the appropriate level. The Fire and Rescue Service National Framework 2006-08 states that regional management boards should draw up a regional HR strategy which encompasses training and development and identifying and implementing the most efficient and effective means for delivering this. The preparation and updating of these regional HR strategies will provide information on current and future training needs.

That training at national, regional and local level should be complementary is based on the principles set out in the National Fire and Rescue Service Learning and Development Strategy for England (LDS), published in November 2005. There are a number of examples where Fire and Rescue Services work in partnership to provide training and there may be further scope for some facilities to be shared on a regional or sub-regional basis.

The Fire Service College continues to provide a national and international facility for operational incident management training, centred on its unique facilities and recognises the need for learning and development to be delivered more flexibly to meet the changing needs of the Fire and Rescue Service. It is reviewing its programme of training courses and products to meet the changing needs of the Fire and Rescue Service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to ensure that the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh trades profitably in the 2007-08 financial year. (101263)

As a trading fund the Fire Service College's financial target is to manage its funded operations so that the revenue of the fund consists principally of receipts in respect of goods and services provided in the course of funded operations; is not less than sufficient, taking one year with another, to meet outgoings which are properly chargeable to revenue account; and to achieve a return, averaged over the period 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2009, of a minimum of 4 per cent. as a percentage of average capital employed.

The college continues to work towards an operational and financial model which will enable it to meet this target on a sustained basis. On-going investment in the marketing and relationship management teams is expected to yield significant growth in the college’s trading income for 2007-08. At the same time, the college continues to operate and improve cost controls, with targeted expenditure reductions in terms of both staff and non-staff expenditure through 2006-07 and 2007-08.