Communities and Local Government (CLG) has provided financial support direct to fire and rescue authorities (FRAs) to assist urban search and rescue (USAR) teams through grants under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. Details of all these grants are published in Fire Service Circulars. The following table summarises this funding, the amounts provided to individual FRAs and the financial year they were paid.
Government have also funded over £8.7 million in new USAR training facilities at the Fire Service College to enable USAR teams to undertake generic and specialist training. To date over £6.8 million has been spent on training courses for USAR technicians primarily at the college.
Other funding, paying for the initial purchase and maintenance of equipment hosted by the USAR teams, has been undertaken collectively with other New Dimension assets and it is not possible to separate out the USAR costs in isolation.
£ 2004-05 2005-06 Fire authorities Crewing and training (resource) Crewing (resource) PPE (capital) Accommodation (capital) Avon Fire Authority — 306,000 42,469 — Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority — 306,000 42,469 — Cheshire Fire Authority 115,900 150,000 — — Devon Fire Authority 109,800 459,000 42,469 — Essex Fire Authority 103,700 306,000 42,469 — Greater London Authority 1,695,800 1,836,000 169,876 — Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority 146,400 150,000 — — Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority 128,100 612,000 42,469 — Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority — 306,000 42,469 — Kent and Medway Towns Fire Authority 85,400 306,000 42,469 — Lancashire Combined Fire Authority — 306,000 42,469 — Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Combined Fire Authority 103,700 459,000 42,469 — Lincolnshire County Council 189,100 306,000 42,469 24,535 Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority 146,400 612,000 42,469 — Norfolk County Council — 459,000 42,469 — Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority 384,300 459,000 42,469 13,804 West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority 109,800 459,000 42,469 — West Sussex County Council 103,700 150,000 — — West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority 122,000 459,000 42,469 — Total 3,544,100 8,406,000 806,911 38,339 Overall total — — — —
2006-07 Fire authorities PPE (resource) Accommodation (capital) Timber (resource) Local training facilities (capital) Crewing (resource) Avon Fire Authority 18,753 387,800 10,000 122,100 719,942 Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority 18,753 — 10,000 — 719,942 Cheshire Fire Authority — — — — 75,000 Devon Fire Authority 18,753 321,893 10,000 155,000 359,971 Essex Fire Authority 18,753 316,754 10,000 122,100 719,942 Greater London Authority 75,012 1,050,327 40,000 244,200 2,879,768 Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority — — — — 75,000 Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority 18,753 270,157 10,000 122,100 719,942 Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority 18,753 148,000 10,000 122,100 719,942 Kent and Medway Towns Fire Authority 18,753 310,000 10,000 103,940 719,942 Lancashire Combined Fire Authority 18,753 283,765 10,000 103,940 719,942 Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Combined Fire Authority 18,753 102,500 10,000 122,100 719,942 Lincolnshire County Council 18,753 — 10,000 103,940 719,942 Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority 18,753 111,310 10,000 103,940 719,942 Norfolk County Council 18,753 191,550 10,000 122,100 539,957 Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority 18,753 — 10,000 103,940 719,942 West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority 18,753 307,227 10,000 122,100 719,942 West Sussex County Council — — 5,000 — 359,971 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority 18,753 215,000 10,000 122,100 675,526 Total 356,307 4,016,283 195,000 1,895,700 13,604,497 Overall total — — — — 32,863,137 Notes: 1. Crewing Grants were provided to cover the employment costs of crewing the USAR teams. 2. PPE Grants were for the provision and maintenance of personal protective equipment for USAR technicians. 3. Accommodation Grants were given to cover the costs associated with housing USAR equipment at fire stations. 4. The Timber Grant covered the cost of replenishing wood required for shoring. 5. The Local Training Facilities Grant was for the purchase of a training rig to allow USAR teams to undertake maintenance of skills training at their own fire stations.
Communities and Local Government (CLG) has already provided fire and rescue authorities (FRAs) with over £32 million in funding under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 to support urban search and rescue (USAR) teams. For a summary of this funding, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today. CLG has also paid over £8.7 million directly to the Fire Service College for the provision of USAR training facilities and over £6.8 million for USAR technicians on training courses.
We would expect to announce funding to support USAR teams in financial year 2007-08 around half way through the year, after discussion with the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) and the Local Government Association (LGA).