Fire Services: Costs

Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the rental cost of each regional fire control centre, over the full period of its lease, inclusive of VAT and increases produced by the mechanism for future regular rental upratings.

Angela E. Smith
The rental costs of each Regional Control Centre (RCC) are shown in the following table. The costs given are over the full period of the lease, inclusive of VAT and uplifted in line with the terms of the lease. The costs, other than for London, are based on rents agreed with the developer of each RCC. Procurement of the London RCC is in progress. RCCs should be able to recover the VAT.

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|RCC                     |Estimated cost (£ million)|Lease term (years)|
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|East Midlands           |45                        |25                |
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|East of England         |50                        |25                |
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|North East              |31                        |20                |
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|North West              |45                        |25                |
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|South East              |54                        |25                |
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|South West              |34                        |20                |
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|West Midlands           |50                        |25                |
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|Yorkshire and Humberside|33                        |20                |
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Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which public body will pay the rental cost of each regional fire control centre from the date at which rent is payable until each emergency fire control in each region has migrated to the relevant regional control centre.

Angela E. Smith
In the period between the practical completion of a Regional Control Centre (RCC) building and the migration of the Fire Control system to that centre, the accommodation costs (including rent and facilities management) will be met by the Department for Communities and Local Government. During that period the building will be fitted out, the IT installed and tested and staff trained.